Seen
by muchmadness
Summary: It's a DL one, in the future. Sorta suspense-ish.
1. Chapter 1

_Wow. Another one. I know, I'm a little excessive. Scold if you must. But whatever. _

_I don't own the CSI:NY characters._

* * *

He was standing outside of their apartment breathing in cigarette smoke. Not his own. Never his own. Not since Jilly, anyways. Two and a half years of no smoky clothes, ash-spotted carpets, or hurriedly searching the house for that box which he _knew _was there. Lindsay had always complained about his habit, but when she learned she was pregnant, he quit of his own accord. He'd read too much about secondhand smoke to keep the habit.

After the day he'd had, though, he would gladly have thrown his nicotine gum into the Hudson and headed to the corner store for some smokes. It's not like his daughter was home. Lindsay was picking her up at daycare. He hadn't seen them all day, another cause for his intense desire for a relapse. But what ate at him the most was the case. Some sort of organized crime, he knew, but he couldn't work out the details. He knew he was onto something, but when he'd shown up at the Park Avenue residence of Mr. Dennis Lee, he'd been sent away due to his lack of warrant.

"We'll get 'em," Flack had said heartily, clapping Danny on the shoulder. _Sure, _Danny thought, _sixteen years from now when there are forty more bodies in the morgue. _Danny inhaled a deep lungful of the smoke. The holder of the cigarette looked at him curiously. She was a woman of about twenty-six, glittering pink lips, and dangerous stilettos.

She offered the lipstick-marked cigarette to him clutched in manicured fingers.

Danny shook his head and turned back to face the street. _Where the _fuck _are they? They shoulda been here an hour ago. Did Jilly get hungry? Do they have her sippy cup?_

"You live around here?" The woman asked conversationally. She nudged her chest out slightly as she leaned against the wall. Her feet edged closer to Danny.

He shook his head and turned away from her. _Christ, lady, take a hint._ He shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk down the street, eyes carefully observing the sidewalk ahead of him.

"See ya around," the woman said, and he heard her shoes clicking away over the hum of the other passerby.

Finally, he saw her. She was on the other side of the street. He wondered what she was doing there. She always from the South side of the street, because that's where the subway stop was. Why would she be coming from the north side?

Jillian was held close to her chest, her honey curls peeking and twirling from under Lindsay's hand. Lindsay looked around hastily, winding and working her way through the crowds in such a meandering fashion that Danny wondered if she thought she was lost.

She caught Danny's eye and visibly breathed deeper. She dashed her way across the street when the cars stopped. _Lindsay doesn't jay walk. She stays and waits until the little man lights up, like she did in Montana. What the hell is she thinking?_

She jogged her way over to him, looking like she was keeping herself from going too fast.

"Montana? What's –" She shushed him by shoving herself at him, pressing herself against his chest. He could feel Jilly moving between them, and he wrapped one arm around his wife and pressed another to the side of his daughter's head.

"Someone's following me," Lindsay whispered to Danny's chest.

He looked up sharply, scanning the crowd for someone hunched or suspicious.

"Get inside," he hissed, whipping open the door to their apartment building and shoving her in. He gave a last glimpse to the crowd before him, noting some and squinting at others, before following her inside.

Once they'd made it inside the elevator, he took Jilly from his wife's vice grip and rocked her. He could hear her whimpering softly, like she did when she was about to cry.

"It's OK, Jilly," Danny whispered to her soft hair, and rubbed her back. Lindsay stood next to him, hand pressed to his back. Danny's arm curled around her.

"What did the guy look like?"

"I didn't get a good look," she admitted, and he noted that her voice was shaking. He tightened his grip. "He was wearing a gray jacket and jeans."

"What kind of jacket?"

"Hoodie. He had tennis shoes on. I watched his feet on the subway, and I knew he was following me when we switched trains with him. He'd been hanging out around the preschool."

Danny pressed a kiss to Jilly's head. Her cries had quelled, and she had nuzzled her way into the crook of his neck, and was sucking her thumb quietly. Her hair tickled his neck.

Danny got them into the apartment, had Lindsay lock the door, then went downstairs to look for the guy. He went out the back of the building, and made his way to the alley next to them. He searched for a full ten minutes, scanning and checking for anyone who stayed in one place longer than to tie their shoe. _Shoulda known they were in trouble, _he berated himself, _she was so late. She'da called or somethin' if she was just running late. Fuck, I shoulda known.. _

He gave up eventually, already longing to touch his wife and daughter just to reassure himself.

Lindsay sat on the floor with her daughter between her legs, reading her a book. Jilly refused to read anything but the Mother Goose tales that Danny's mother had given her the past Christmas.

Lindsay was distracted. She'd memorized most of the simply-written stories, and recited from memory as she stared at the snow that had collected on the windowsill. Danny had been gone a while. She knew he was just being thorough, but she'd have felt much better if he were sitting behind her on the couch rather than outside, looking for the man following her.

When he finally came in, he took a moment to shake the snow from his jacket before removing it. He was tired and tense, she could tell. She felt bad for worrying him. _Was this guy even following me? Was I being ridiculous? Granted, I've felt eyes on my back for the past couple of days now, but still. _

Danny shuffled over to the couch and collapsed onto it, the sofa sighing when he fell.

"I didn't see anything."

"It's alright," Lindsay murmured, rubbing his jean-clad calf in front of her.

They both knew it wasn't, especially when the falsity of the statement crept up behind them the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

_Reviews were great, thanks guys! Here's the second chapter. Another long one. If you have any suggestions of who/what/why, I'm open to anything! Because you never know who it could be, right?_

* * *

The man's eyes were brown. Lindsay knew that much from the glass in front of her, which reflected the man's eyes with clarity to her left. His face was bundled in a scarf, and his hair hidden under a hat. The wind whipped past Lindsay, reminding her that she'd been standing in front of the store for too long. She turned on her heel and tightened her grip on Jilly. Her eyes discretely scanned the street for a place to safely store her daughter for a minute or two. She looked for a daycare, a police station, even a nice security guard might have done the trick. She found none. She knew that if Jilly wasn't with her, she'd whip around and scream at the guy, but there was no way in hell she was risking her daughter's life.

Jilly squirmed in her grasp, begging to be put on the ground. She'd seen Central Park to her right, and, like her mother, was drawn to the way the branches bent and whispered in the wind. Lindsay fought her silently, and smoothed the back of her daughter's fire engine red coat in a last-ditch effort to calm the girl.

Jilly finally relaxed. It was late, after all, nearly six, and Jilly's nap had been quick. She rested her head on her mother's shoulder, staring curiously at the man who shuffled barely six feet behind them.

Lindsay tugged out her phone and pressed speed dial.

"_Hey, Linds, what's up?"_

"Hey, Mac."

"_Linds, what're you talking about. It's Danny. Did you dial the wrong number again? I've told you, you gotta look at the numbers while you're-"_

"Yes, I finished all the reports."

"_What's wrong?" _Danny's voice was quick and hurried.

"Sure, Jilly and I are just on our way to her favorite restaurant."

"_He there? Linds is the guy following you two?"_

"Uh huh, definitely." She kept her voice cheerful and light, smiling to the phone. His voice calmed her and focused her on her task.

"_I'll be right there, Montana, hang on. Are you on your way to Eli's Ribs, like you said?"_

"That's perfect."

"_Stay on the phone with me, OK?" _She could hear his breath quickening, and the echo of his footsteps on the floor. He was running, she knew. She heard car doors slamming and the vroom of the engine. _"Try to get into some kind of store, honey. I'm coming."_

"Yes, that's great news." Her voice cracked slightly. Jilly shifted in her arms.

"_Stay on the line. I'm close. Five or six minutes. Is Jilly alright? She scared?"_

"No problems so far."

Lindsay found a convenience store and pushed her way in. She stayed near the front of the store, letting Danny know where she was. She could no longer see the man. He'd come into the store with them. Lindsay wandered up the aisles, letting Jilly down and taking her hand. She squeezed it unconsciously, causing Jilly to let out a soft shriek of protest.

"It's OK, sweetie, just a little while longer and we'll go home."

"Linds?" She heard behind her and echoed through the phone. Danny was jogging towards them down the aisle.

"Danny," she breathed, kissing him hard on the lips when he got to her. He bent down and picked up Jilly. She squirmed, having grown accustomed to her freedom on the floor.

"Is he in here?" Danny's left hand drifted to his gun, pressing and ready to release it.

"I don't know; I lost him."

"Was he wearing the same thing?"

"Yes."

"Jesus, who is this guy!" He snarled. Jilly jumped in his arms and stared at him openly. Lindsay hid her smile at her daughter's red circle of a mouth.

Danny and Lindsay searched the store and the sidewalk, but could find the man nowhere. Finally, they gave up and went home.

After dinner, Danny put Jilly to bed. She jabbered to him about ducks as he changed her into her yellow pajamas, and he tried to listen, he really did, but all he could think about was the man in the hoodie. He snapped back to reality when Jilly broke from his arms and ran to the window to point at the snow.

"'Nowing," she said happily, touching the glass and watching the condensation that formed quickly around her finger.

"Yeah, it is," Danny grinned back at her. "C'mere, you," he said, and lifted her up, tickling her. She wiggled and laughed in his arms. He finally let her go, watching as she caught her breath. She stared at him for a moment before leaning in and pressing her lips to his cheek. Being a toddler, she hadn't quite gotten the idea of kissing, merely the motions, so all Danny felt was a slobbery mashing of his daughter's lips to his face, but he received the general idea.

"Love you, too, kiddo," he said, and put her down into the crib she was getting too big for. She grabbed his finger as his hands left her, pulling him back down. They went through the routine every night, and it got harder and harder for Danny to resist giving in.

"No," she said weakly, "stay." Danny caved. He couldn't help it. He lifted her out of the crib and sat with her in the squishy chair in the corner of her room. He wrapped her in her favorite afghan and let her breathing and sniffling soothe him. He stayed far past when he'd promised, past when she was already asleep. Lindsay wandered in to see where he'd gone, and found him with his head resting on the side of the chair, Jilly's head under his chin.

She shook him awake carefully and put Jilly carefully into her bed.

Danny gave one last look at his daughter before closing the door.

Once they were properly attired for bed and resting under their heavy comforter, Danny confessed what had been on his mind.

"I don't want you alone."

"Well, geez, Danny, cause I was planning on having another kid with you someday."

"You know what I mean."

Lindsay rolled in his arms to face him, propping herself up on her elbows above him.

Danny sighed, "It's happened twice already. Both times you've been with Jillian. If something – if you – if – if-"

She shushed him with a kiss. "I know, Danny." She hesitated before continuing. "But I don't think it's only been two times. I've felt like someone's been watching me for the past couple of days now."

"Where?"

"At the supermarket. Shopping for shoes. At a scene, once."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I honestly didn't think much of it until yesterday."

Danny sighed and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her to his chest. His hands twirled in her hair and rubbed her neck. "So you agree, then. I'll talk to Mac about getting someone from the force to start hanging around you."

"What about Jillian?"

"Well, I've got her tomorrow while you're on shift, so I can take care of it."

"And I can't?" Her face rose, indignant.

"No. But we don't know if this guy's tailing just you or all of us. That's it."

She lay back down on his chest. His hands came up to her hair again. "OK."

"Be safe tomorrow, yeah? Hang around Flack or Stel while you're at a scene. I talked to them today about what's been going on."

She moved her head slightly, but was asleep within seconds, her head pillowed on his chest.


	3. Chapter 3

_It is unbelievably hard to write about cold weather when it is 91 degrees Fahrenheit outside. In fact, it is actually impossible. _

* * *

Danny picked Jilly up from her preschool in the afternoon. He'd dropped her off only after making her promise that she wouldn't talk to anyone besides her teachers and the kids in her class. He knew she'd forget, but he didn't care. It made him feel better. He'd managed to convince Mac to place a black and white in front of her preschool, in addition to the one tailing Lindsay. Just in case, Danny had spent the day wandering around the neighborhood, no more than five or ten minutes away from his daughter. He spent his time trying to find a birthday present for his brother while subconsciously looking behind him every few seconds.

He'd warned Lindsay that if she didn't check in with him every hour and a half, he'd call her in to missing persons. She'd been reasonable about it, but by the third call she'd gotten cranky and had told him that she was changing the deadline to three hours. He agreed to the dial tone of his phone.

He nodded his hello to the teacher, looking haggard and worn after a day of ankle biters and the like. Jillian walked straight up to him, holding a picture for him to take. Danny saw scribbles and dots, but let her convince him that it was an airport. If he squinted his eyes and turned his head to the left slightly, he could almost see it. Either an airport, or a rooster. He wasn't sure.

"OK, midget, you ready to go?"

She giggled and took his hand. She hated being carried unless she was tired. Danny and Lindsay were getting pains in their backs from stooping down to hold onto her, and their knees hurt from moving so slowly. But they put up with it; Lindsay because she wanted her daughter to be independent, Danny because he thought Jilly looked hilarious when she toddled along.

He helped her with her bright red coat. Jilly had a fascination with shining, bright things, more than any other child her age. She refused to wear her raincoat until Lindsay had glued sparkles onto it, and when Danny had spilled glitter on his shirt after an arts and crafts session, she'd gone crazy grabbing and telling him how pretty he looked.

Once Danny was sure that she was bundled up in her coat, hat, gloves, and boots, they set out. He nodded to the police cruiser, and watched it leave. With a quick look around him to make sure nobody was following him, he and Jilly set off to the car. Jilly refused to hold his hand for her own reasons, so he kept his hand placed on the crown of her head to keep her from running off.

"Alright, gorgeous, where we gonna go?"

"Park!"

"Ya kiddin me? It's six degrees out here! I ain't goin to the park."

"Peas?"

"We can't go."

"Peeeas?"

"Fine. For a little bit. If you get hypothermia, your ma's gonna kill me."

He got her into the carseat and prayed to God that, one day soon, someone would build an indoor park next door to his house.

Danny took her walking around the pond, alternating between letting her walk in front of him and then chasing after her when she got too far away. The two of them played a little bit of soccer/catch (Jilly didn't quite get the 'no hands' rule) with a soccer ball Danny found before he noticed that her teeth chattered and her cheeks were bright pink. Finally, she came to him, arms outstretched. He swung her up, kicking the ball ahead of him. He nearly smacked himself in the face when he realized that her feet were wet. _She probably has pneumonia already, you stupid jerk. Why the hell did I think I could take her to the park in this kind of weather? Doesn't matter how cute her face looked when I kicked that ball around with her. I shoulda done better._

She fell asleep on the ride home. He woke her up to give her a warm bath before letting her go back to sleep again. He was still certain she had some terrible illness.

Lindsay came later that night, when Danny was half-dressed, lounging in sweats and an undershirt. She crept through the door to find him stretched out on the couch. When he saw her, he practically leapt up. He crossed the room in three steps and swung her up into a kiss.

She responded quickly, carefully dropping the bag of take-out to the floor. Danny lifted her up in his arms and she wrapped her legs around him.

He started in on her neck, mouthing and biting the flesh.

"Oh, God," she murmured. "I guess you missed me, huh?"

He laughed through his nose and found her mouth again, kissing her with such ferocity that she didn't even realize when he took off her clothes and laid her down on the couch.

An hour and a half later, when she was still coming down from her high, he asked, "Wadja bring to eat?"

She laughed, her body shaking beneath him on the couch. He trailed a finger up the side of her body.

"I got some soup from that café down the street. You could heat it up if you wanted."

"In a sec," he mumbled from her neck.

"How was Jillian?"

"She was good. Made me take her to the park."

"You didn't."

He nodded sheepishly.

"It's freezing out there!"

"She made me."

"You always do everything she asks. How do you think that's going to work when she's a teenager?"

Danny shuddered against her. Lindsay chuckled. Danny's head was filled with images of teenage boys knocking at the door, taking her to the movies and – oh, God, please no. "She's not dating until she's fifty."

Lindsay openly laughed then, and nipped his neck before sliding her way out from under him. She headed for the takeout, completely naked, and heated up the soup before shivering and grabbing a quilt from the end of the couch and wrapping it around herself. She crawled on top of Danny and wiggled into him.

"Hey, Linds?"

"Hmm."

"Did, uh. Did anyone … was …"

"Nope. Nothing. No stalkers."

"Didja get any time to think about who it could be?"

She sighed. "Can we not think about it tonight, Danny?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure." He kissed her head and rolled her over so her back was to the couch and her front to him. "I'll get the soup," he said, before kissing her thoroughly.


	4. Chapter 4

_Well here you have it. Chapter 4! I should probably have them do some actual investigating in the next chapter, huh?_

* * *

"Look, man, all I'm sayin' is we're just not sure," Danny muttered to Don. They sat at the bar, Danny fiddling with his beer.

"I know. I get it," Don agreed, "and I'll do it. No biggie. Plus, she's my favorite goddaughter."

"She's your _only _goddaughter."

"Yeah. Makin' her my favorite. Plus, she's always a good kid. Four of the six hours, she'll be asleep."

"Thanks, man."

Danny loved their regular babysitter. Bernice was sweet, made great strawberry smoothies, and lived a floor above them. He couldn't have asked for anything better. Except a cop. Because the truth was, Danny wasn't too sure how Bernice would react to some stalker showing up at her door. He'd feel a lot safer if Bernice had a gun, or a working hip. Twenty years ago, she probably could take it. Now, Danny wasn't so sure. He felt a lot better knowing that Don would be there with his nine mil and his wariness.

"You know where the daycare is?"

"Yeah, I've been there."

"Thanks again, man," Danny said, standing and slapping a few bills on the counter.

Don nodded back to him.

Danny made his way home cautiously. He'd only managed to take down half of the beer, worrying that his alertness would be in question. It seemed like every second of every minute was tense, suspicious, and lasted for hours.

The next day, he got off shift with nerves tingling in the pit of his belly. He caught Mac by the shoulder, "Hey, you seen Lindsay?"

"I sent her home early."

Danny's stomach lurched. He barely managed to say goodbye to his boss before he was speeding out of the building. He regretted bringing the car, wondering if the subway would've been faster. He screeched to a stop in a parking place near their building and leaped out of the car. He looked around wildly for Lindsay before catching her walking calmly out of a bodega the next block over.

He jogged over to her, calming himself along the way and swearing that he wouldn't be mad at her.

"Thought we were gonna go home together," he snapped, breaking his promise.

She drew back, eyes stinging with hurt at his harsh tone. "I- I'm sorry, Danny, Mac sent me home and I thought I'd get us some food –"

Danny swept her into a swift hug, crushing her against him with one arm while the other reached and took the grocery bag from her hand.

"Danny, I'm fine, really."

He had nothing to say to her. If he _had _said something, he knew it would be too sappy and mushy for the likes of Danny Messer. _You're my fuckin' world. If you'da gotten grabbed by that guy, I'd never be the same again. I love you so much that I wish you'd be near me every second of every day just so I could look at you and talk to you and hold you._

"I know," he said finally, wrapping both of his arms around her. She felt the grocery back hit her in the butt. She was about to joke about it, but heard how fast his heart was beating through his coat. She felt it, tapping against her cheek and pounding in her throat. She kissed his chest and pulled back just in time to see movement in the alley behind them.

She pulled back from Danny and started towards the alley.

"Hey! Is someone in there?" Her voice was loud and abrasive, and Danny took the hint behind her, moving his hand to his piece strapped to his waist.

Nobody responded from the alley, but Lindsay could hear the shuffling of footsteps and ripping paper. She started to move faster towards the dark entrance, but Danny caught her in the chest with his arm, pushing her behind him. She understood that he was the only one between them with a gun, but she still felt a rush of irritation towards him.

Danny peered into the depths of the alley, eyes searching for movement and gun firmly positioned ahead of him. Lindsay stepped out from behind him.

"He's gone," she said grumpily. Her eyes brightened when she saw the scrap. It was no more than a little piece of fabric, caught at the edge of a dumpster. It fluttered daintily in the wind, teasing and playing. Lindsay caught it with her hand.

"You're not wearing gloves," Danny commented.

"Well, sorry if I don't carry latex with me every-"

"No, I mean winter gloves. Like mittens. Where are yours? I thought you had some."

He reached for her chapped, red hands and wrapped his gloved fingers around them.

"He left us something," she commented, bringing the piece of telltale gray fabric to his face. He plucked it from her fingers and observed it carefully.

"Nice." He grinned. His eye caught on a bit of newspaper on the ground. He picked it up and turned it over, finding a dirt-lined shoeprint neatly pressed to it. "Like he wants us to find him," Danny said happily. He folded the newspaper and put it in his pocket with the scrap of fabric. Then he removed his gloves and handed them to Lindsay. She put them on, loving the way they were already warm, albeit much too large for her. Before coming into the building, Lindsay pushed Danny to the wall and kissed him hard. She kissed him for his protectiveness, but also because he hid it sometimes. She kissed him for the gloves, too. And she'd missed him.

They headed up to the apartment and found Flack watching a muted ESPN with the subtitles on.

"Wassa matter, man, working on your literacy skills?" Danny quizzed.

"Naw, Jilly's sleeping. I didn't wanna wake her up."

Lindsay grinned at that. They gave Don the evidence to run over to the lab, and told him what had happened. Lindsay also snuck him a piece of her famous pecan pie in thanks for his babysitting service.

After checking in on Jillian, Danny and Lindsay collapsed on their bed, fully clothed. They told themselves that they'd get into nightclothes in 'just a second.' All they could manage to do was rest their eyes.

"So where are your gloves?" Danny asked, reaching for her still-freezing hands. He rubbed them with his fingers, massaging each section carefully.

"Lost 'em," she muttered.

"Where?"

"Put 'em down at a scene. They weren't there when I came back."

"You got others, right?"

"Mmm."

"You sure?"

"Think so."

"Want me to go get some tomorrow morning? I can pick some up."

"They're just gloves, Danny," she said, and squirmed closer to him until her head was under his chin, and her arms clasped between them.

Danny kissed each finger slowly, finally sucking on her pinkie. She hummed happily. "We should get into sleeping clothes," she mumbled.

"We gotta take these off, first," Danny said cheerfully.

Her eyes opened, then closed as she leaned in to kiss him.


	5. Chapter 5

_Basically making up the forensics stuff. Just letting you know. One year of chemistry does not make me a CSI._

* * *

"Yo, Adam, you finish with that fabric?"

Adam's head popped up from a microscope. His eyes darted nervously before he shook his head.

"You started?" Danny asked. He didn't _intend _to be so mean, but over the past couple of days, the only two people he seemed to tolerate were Lindsay and Jilly. To the rest of the world, he'd been snappy and short. Flack had been bugging him to quit it.

"It's just regular cotton and polyester. Nothing special, really. Traces of sodium chloride."

"Salt_?" _Danny asked incredulously. _Great, so the guy knows how to spice up his French fires. Big frickin' deal._

"Well, the way it's in the fabric makes me think that it's from the ocean. Also, there are traces of toxic chemicals, possibly from an illegal dumpsite. I traced the chemical identity back to a dog food factory."

Danny immediately regretted his earlier animosity. "Hey, thanks, man," he said softly, clapping Adam on the back. "What about the Lee case? Anything new?"

"I've been going over the glass fragments found under the victim again and again. Still nothing."

Danny nodded and wandered off to find the case file. _Poor kid. Should have him over for dinner sometime, when this is all over,_ he thought.

Meanwhile, Lindsay was feeling like an idiot. She knew she should have asked Hawkes to come with her to the suspect's house, instead of going alone like some kind of lone ranger. Her feelings derived from the car following her, with a blacked out front license plate and tinted windows. She knew she couldn't turn around. She walked quicker, burrowing her chin into the fuzzy green scarf around her neck. _I'm just superstitious. It's a one-way street. The guy could just be going slowly. Maybe he's busy checking his phone or something. _She couldn't help but notice that the car was a little too close to the curb, or that every so often, reflected in the store windows, she would catch a glimpse of gray. She turned abruptly into an alley, leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath.

"Slow down, Lindsay," she whispered to herself, "you're fine. You have your gun, your badge, your phone." She was interrupted by a growling motor at the end of the alley, gunning straight for her. The alley walls were narrow – the car barely fit. There was no way she would be able to press up against the wall. She broke into a run, her legs moving faster than the ever had before. The wind whipped past her face with a rushing sound, almost drowning the humming and grunting of the car behind her. She could feel its presence behind her, and imagined it closing in on her. She leaped into a doorframe to the side of the alley and heard the car scream past her. She saw that they'd forgotten to black out the numbers in the back.

Her breath was coming in loud pants. She heard a scratching sound from her lungs as she gasped for oxygen. She heaved for breath. Her body was on fire. She wasn't sure if her legs would move when she got up from the ground. She also wasn't too sure if the red liquid on her elbow was ketchup from the trash can to her left, or blood. She hoped it was the former.

She looked around her. Her eyes caught on a man, standing at the end of the alley. He was looking around at the neighborhood, presumably for her. There was no mistaking that stance. As the car revved to her right for a second go, she dashed back the way she'd come, hurtling towards her husband. He turned just as she launched herself at him, and Lindsay threw her hands around him and squeezed him around the mid-section.

"Jesus, Lindsay! What the hell happened? Hawkes said you went out alone so I - are you OK?"

She turned to look back down the alley, watching the car zoom around the block and speed past them. "Th - th - " she gave up and pointed to the car in the distance.

He pulled her tighter and looked at the retreating car, finally wondering why his hand seemed wet. He pulled it back and checked it - a small stain of blood rested on his palm. He pulled away from Lindsay and roughly checked her body for injury. _Oh Jesus oh god oh fuck oh fuck if he shot her if she's hurt oh Jesus oh God oh fuck._

"It's my elbow." She reassured him, having caught her breath. She showed him the scraped arm.

He sighed in relief.

"Well, I have good news and bad news," Lindsay said as they pulled into the lab parking lot.

"Yeah?"

"Bad news is, I ripped my coat. Good news is, I have a license plate number."

"First things first – come on."

He took her to the break room and rummaged around for a first aid kit. When Hawkes came in, he took one look at Danny fumbling with the seven types of bandages and gauze he found in the kit before shoving him over and taking the kit. Hawkes cleaned her scrape with antiseptic before carefully wrapping it in a bandage.

"That's a pretty long gash," he said once it was patched.

"Scrape," Lindsay corrected. She didn't have to look at it to know that it wrapped around from one side of her arm to the other, circling the skin above her elbow. She thought it might have been the edge of the doorframe, a jagged piece of metal that had stuck out of the edge.

"You lost your gloves _again?"_ Danny quizzed, observing the way her hands were as red as the blood on her shirtsleeve.

"We have to look up something." Lindsay got up quickly and headed for a computer. She typed in the license plate number she'd etched into her memory into the DMV database.

"It's stolen," she said, surprised. Danny came up behind her, supporting himself with a hand on the back of her chair.

"The place it was stolen from is two blocks from a guy I'm investigating," he mused.

"Who?"

"Dennis Lee."

Danny and Flack entered Mr. Lee's house successfully this time, taking in the tacky gold statues and lavish decoration of Mr. Lee's apartment.

"You've been following my wife," Danny growled at Mr. Lee, who sat patiently in his hard-backed chair.

"No, I have not."

Don rolled his eyes, "A car was stolen _two blocks_ from the house of a guy we're investigating; you don't think it's him?"

"No, I don't think it's me. Why would I steal a car? I have several."

"Maybe you didn't wanna get recognized, ya think of that?" Danny asked.

"Why wouldn't I want to get recognized? I would be, and am, the first person you think of." Mr. Lee's mouth twitched. He was tired of dealing with these people.

"I do not consider you a threat," he said, "merely an annoyance. I would not waste my time on you _or _your wife."

When Danny and Flack left, they were not surprised that the officers executing the warrant found no car matching Lindsay's description, nor any signs of a hooded gray sweatshirt with a tear or, for that matter, any evidence that Dennis Lee had any interest in Lindsay Messer. It was clear to them that neither Mr. Lee nor one of his followers had stalked Lindsay.

Danny came home with his tail between his legs. Jilly and Lindsay were sleeping, the two of them having fallen asleep on the couch while watching a Sesame Street tape. Danny lazily lifted his daughter and brought her to her bed, marveling at how light and warm she was. Her eyes showed no evidence of any sort of worry, no fears, nothing. He traced his finger along the side of her eye, smiling at the way her nose scrunched up and her hand raised to brush at her face. He double-checked her locked window before leaving the room with a quiet click of the door.

Lindsay was half-awake and halfway to their bedroom when he finally stepped out.

"'S alright, I got it," he said, and jogged over to pick her up. She smiled into her neck and wrapped her arms around his neck. He swept his hand under her legs and walked her to their room. Before he crawled into bed with her, he locked the front door, both locks.

With the weight of his failure resting heavily on him, Danny slept.


	6. Chapter 6

_I'm working on stalker-finding. If you guys have any ideas, I'm serious - I'm taking all suggestions. Thanks to the reviewers so far!_

_Oh by the way - APs are coming up, so I've got a truckload of studying to to, so sorry about any sloth-y-ness in the future._

* * *

Danny hated being at work. Partially because he was two hours into an investigation with a man who'd killed a six year old girl, Yolanda Navarro. Naturally, he hadn't admitted to it yet. Danny was getting there.

"Look, _Calvin, _I have evidence that you were standing outside of this girl's room _three nights in a row._"

Calvin Potts simply smiled and folded his hands on the table.

"There's evidence of your fingerprints and your semen outside her door," Danny added.

"That's just one tiny step up to murder in my book," Don added, slamming the file down on the hard table.

Calvin Potts was a quiet man. And a sly man. He took his time, crossing one leg over the other. "Do you have any evidence that I killed her?" he asked slowly.

Don looked to Danny. Danny leaned down onto the table, close to Calvin's ear. "Somebody strangled that little girl. They watched her die. We know you've been watching her, Potts, and –"

"How's your daughter, Detective?"

Danny stopped. The world stopped. He curled his hands around the table, letting the cold metal cut dangerously into his skin.

"What did you say?" He hissed.

"She has the most beautiful curls. From her mother, I can only assume," he looked up at Danny, who was seething above him, "And a blonde to boot. That's from you, I guess. And those eyes… oh my. What a beauty. She's a little too young, though, we'll have to wait a few –"

Before he could speak again Danny was on top of him, slugging him in the face again and again.

"You fucker! It was _you! _It was _YOU!" _

Don didn't want to intervene, and in fact believed that he had no right to. He'd have loved nothing more than to let Danny kill the guy, or at least let get in a few punches himself. But when the officer outside the door rushed in to pull Danny off, Flack sprung into action, grabbing Danny's arms and pulling him backwards.

When Lindsay heard that Danny had attacked a suspect, she was livid. She stormed into the breakroom, only to find Danny washing blood off of his fists.

"What were you _thinking?" _She screamed, "We have enough to worry about, and then you go off and sock some suspect! What is _wrong _with you!" She shoved him for emphasis.

"Linds, he was –"

"The guy has a broken nose and cheekbone! He'll have to have _surgery; _we'll probably get sued –"

"Linds, he's the one who –"

"What the hell did he even _say?"_

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. I think he's the stalker. I think it's him."

Lindsay's face changed rapidly from angry, to shocked, to scared, then right back to angry.

"Well I hope you did more than break his nose and cheekbone."

"I got a couple hits to his chest."

She nodded, face still contorted, then broke, and sat. She stared vacantly in front of her. "What did he say?" She asked carefully.

"He was talking about Jilly. About –" Danny knew he had to lie to her. If the idea of what Calvin spoke of hurt her as much as they'd hurt him, then he knew he had to keep it from her. "He knew who you and Jilly were. What you looked like."

"Oh."

At that moment, Flack burst in, holding a sheet of paper in his hand. He looked from Danny to Lindsay, taking in their faces and the way their hands were clasped tightly together.

"Am I …"

"Naw, man, what is it?" Danny asked.

"Our guy, Calvin Potts, has been in San Francisco starting the day after Yolanda Navarro was killed. That was two weeks ago, before the stalking even started."

"So he's not the one who's been doing this," Lindsay murmured.

Don shook his head. "He came in through the precinct, when you and Jilly were just leaving for daycare. He musta seen you say good bye to Danny."

"Then why do you look so happy?" Danny asked.

"'Cause I think I know who this stalker is. Linds, you remember a guy – Anderson Cale? From Bozeman? Well he just got out, and the guys from the jail say he'd been talkin' about finding you."

Lindsay frowned, raking her brain for the name. "Huh," she started, "I put him away for a double murder in my first year as a CSI."

She shoved Danny again, "You hit him for nothing," She muttered, pulling her phone out of her pocket to call her friend Candy in Montana for details on Cale.

"No…" Don said, "he was completely justified. The guy was a pedophile. He was talking about Jilly in a … bad way."

Lindsay looked horrified. She dropped her phone on the floor with a thump.

"Ya know what?" Danny said, grabbing Lindsay's hand, "Let's go take her out of school early."

Lindsay hastily got up, grabbing her bag. "Good idea."

They brushed past Don, thanking him, and instructing him to tell Mac where they'd gone.

At the preschool, they headed to the teacher on duty, Ms. Walters, whose head was entirely covered in purple paint. Lindsay kicked Danny discreetly in the shin to prevent any laughter or mockery on his part.

"Hi, Jeanette, we're here to pick up Jilly."

Ms. Walter's face clouded.

"Yes, I know we're early," Lindsay said hastily.

"No, it's not that. Didn't you send Jillian's Uncle to pick her up just two or three minutes ago?"

Danny stared openmouthed at Jeanette for no more than three seconds before blasting his way out the door, slamming the door handle with an open fist. Lindsay heard the door smack on the adjoining wall, and pondered slapping Ms. Walters in a similar fashion.

"You let her _GO?!" _She screamed, and could only manage a wounded grunt before chasing after Danny. Her head was dizzy. She could barely move in a straight line. Her mind centered on Jilly. It was her fault. It was all Lindsay's fault. _I killed her. I got my daughter kidnapped. _She thought of silky blonde hair and melting chocolate eyes before she shakily pushed the still-shuddering door open to the stormy sky.

* * *

_P.S. Mwah ha ha_


	7. Chapter 7

_Holy crap, I didn't know so many people could call me evil! Hmmm … I kind of like it … This was a bit quick. Oh well._

Jilly's hand hurt. It was because of the other hand, the bigger hand, not so warm as her father's, not so soft as her mother's. The hand was clamped onto her wrist, tight and constricting, like the time she wrapped a rubber band around her wrist too many times and the skin turned white and purple. Her father had scolded her then, soft but strong words of never-again. She'd been playing with her friend Vera and a toy dump truck when, suddenly, a man had grinned at her from above and wrapped her wrist in the same fingers that clutched her now.

He'd pulled her down the sidewalk, out of the school, and she hadn't spoken to him, just like her mommy and daddy had told her. Don't speak to strangers. And she hadn't. When the man with the silvery-lined tennis shoes had dragged her down the sidewalk, she'd whimpered. She didn't like cars. She'd wanted to walk. She'd wanted to walk right back to the preschool and wait for her mother to pick her up. She wanted her lily-scented mother to kiss her cheek and tickle her and hug her tightly, not the man who smelled like old food and gasoline.

She heaved a half-sob, a hiccup or a soft intake of breath. She didn't like this at all. She was cold. She didn't have her jacket with her. She pulled back, only to be wrenched forwards so hard that her feet left the ground for a moment. Fear paralyzed her. She knew she must've done something wrong, must've made a mistake. She was calmed by her mother's gloves, peeking slyly out of the man's pocket. Her mother's gloves were a powder blue, and once Jilly had spilled sequins into them, a surprise discovered by her mother mid-way through a recent snowstorm.

Meanwhile, Danny had just smacked the door open, and was whipping his head from right to left. He followed the recently pressed footprints in the thin powder of snow. He raced down the sidewalk, searching in vain for anything.

When the man opened the car door and lifted her by her throbbing hand to shove her in, she shrieked, loud and sobbing.

Danny was accelerating before he knew what the shriek was, who it was, where it was. He veered to the left, his shoes slapping and squeaking on the sidewalk tiles. He saw her, pulling back on an arm that stretched from a car.

"DADDY!" Jilly sobbed in anguish. Danny ran towards her.

A face through the windshield looked up at the sound of the pounding feet and crying child breaking the former silence of the neighborhood. The face contorted in surprise. The arm let go of its small prisoner, and the car screeched away, the sound of a car door slamming in its wake.

Danny skidded, slid, and scooped his daughter from the sidewalk. He wrapped his arms around her so completely that her vision diminished to a corner created by the leather-jacketed crook of his arm. She grasped his shirt, short nails scraping at his skin through the blue t-shirt.

"Oh, God," Danny gasped, encasing her tighter in his arms. He spotted Lindsay, slowing as she saw them. She stood on the corner on the opposite side of the street, her hand pressed to her mouth. She was crying already, but she could not move.

Lindsay watched Danny's eyes close in relief, she watched him rock slowly from side to side as Jilly sobbed into his chest. She could barely see her daughter through Danny's embrace, just a patch of blonde hair. Danny's eyes fluttered open, and he slowly crossed the empty street to Lindsay. She stood in front of him, and he wanted to wipe her tears away, but he refused to let go of Jilly.

Lindsay leaned on his leather jacket, one hand clutching his shoulder. Jilly wiggled in Danny's arms, and he loosened his hold. Jilly's head poked out, and her cries echoed down the street. Lindsay cupped the back of Jilly's head, stroking her scalp with her fingers. Lindsay looked up at Danny questioningly, and he nodded and slowly emptied Jilly into his wife's arms. Danny kept his hand on Jilly's back, rubbing and soothing.

"It's OK," Lindsay whispered into Jilly's ear, "We're right here."

Jilly's crying slowed to hiccups, and eventually her eyes closed and her breathing became deep and heavy.

"I'm so sorry," Lindsay whispered over Jilly's head. "I'm so, so, _sorry."_

"What are you talkin' about?" Danny asked, bringing the hand not on Jilly's back to Lindsay's cheek.

"This … person is following _me. _It's my fault."

Danny looked confused, "That's not even close to true."

"Yes, it is. I've been so … so … _blasé_ about this guy, about what he could do, and I completely forget to protect my daughter." She cried silently into Danny's chest, her tears mingling with those of her daughter's.

"That's not true. It's not. It doesn't matter whose fault it was, because she's right here, Linds."

"I know," Lindsay sobbed. "But still."

"Still nothin'. We're fine. I got a good look at the guy."

"Who – who was it?" Lindsay asked, bringing her wet face up to look at Danny.

"I dunno, I really don't. But I'll look over some mug shots and see if I can pick him out."

They called in Don, who arrived screeching in his car, demanding to see Jilly. She had woken up by then, and stretched out her arms happily to her favorite godfather. Don kissed her head and joked to her that she was gonna give him a heart attack if she ever did that again.

Don agreed to watch the scene for them, and waved them off with his hand. Danny was particularly concerned about someone contaminating the tire marks. He collected some flecked paint from the sidewalk where the car had bumped the concrete and pocketed it.

Danny, Lindsay, and Jillian headed to the car. Jillian was wiggling in Lindsay's grasp, terror forgotten, and wanted to walk on the sidewalk. Danny vehemently opposed the idea, offering to hold her himself.

"You can't punish her," Lindsay said softly.

"I'm not. I'm just scared," he responded, kissing the top of Lindsay's head. He dropped his arm over her shoulder and walked them to the car, holding the door for Lindsay and buckling Jillian into her car seat with persnickety care. He kissed her before leaving to the driver's seat, right on her forehead at the line of her brow.

"I love you, kiddo," he whispered to her hair.

He drove them back to the lab, hesitant to go separate ways after the attack. He catalogued the evidence with Jilly on his hip, writing quickly. He explained to Mac what had happened. Mac sent them home immediately, sending a patrol car to follow them home and stay in front of their building.

Danny and Lindsay fell asleep with Jilly between them, Lindsay with a hand on her daughter's stomach, Danny with an arm thrown over his girls.


	8. Chapter 8

_Okey Dokey. Another pretty long one. Contains one dirty joke. Maybe two._

* * *

Jilly had a bruise on her wrist. It didn't hurt her so much, yet she was incredibly intrigued by it. She woke to find herself trapped between her parents. Her mother's hands were wrapped around her stomach, her father's arm pressing on her side. Jilly wiggled and squirmed, but never made it out of their tight embrace. She gave in, and laid back to look at her arm. The bruise was reddish purple, like grapes in sunlight when you can see through them to the seeds inside. Jilly poked the thin band of broken blood vessels around her wrist. She whimpered at the sting.

Danny woke quickly to the sound, sitting upright and gazing at his family below him. He glanced at the time, noted that it was early, and turned back to Jilly, who was working on entangling herself from Lindsay.

"Oh, no, you don't," he said, and lifted her up himself. He rested her on his hip and slid off the bed, keeping Jilly settled with one arm. He made his way to the kitchen, settling Jilly in her high chair, handing her a glittery ring of keys to keep her occupied.

Danny then set about cutting fruit for Lindsay, toast for himself, and oatmeal for Jilly. After slicing a melon into bite-sized pieces, he handed one to Jilly. She reached for it with a bruise-spotted hand. Danny dropped the fruit to the floor.

"Ji – Jilly, honey, what happened to your hand?" He asked softly.

"Ow."

"I know, that's gotta hurt. What happened to it?"

Jilly shook her head and bounced in her chair, reaching for the cut fruit on the tabletop near Danny.

"C'mon, Jilly, it's me, Daddy. You can tell me," Danny cajoled, lifting Jilly from her chair and holding her on his chest. "Please, JJ? Can you tell Daddy what happened?"

"Man," Jilly whispered, and leaned her head on Danny's shoulder. She started wailing, grabbing Danny's shirt and kicking her legs. Danny pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.

"I know, I know. It won't happen ever again, I promise." _I swear more than you know, kid. I _swear _I'll make this guy pay. _

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Jilly shook her head, still heaving. She rubbed her eyes, palms facing out.

"Did somebody grab your wrist?" Danny asked. "Was it the man from yesterday?" He'd guessed already, judging by the distinct finger-shaped marks emanating from a circular pattern at the base of her palm.

Jilly said nothing. When Lindsay came into the kitchen, Danny was distracted enough to let Jilly slide to the ground. Jilly bounced to the living room to play with her toys, leaving Danny to sigh and drop his face to his hands on the tabletop.

Lindsay came up behind him and rubbed his back, kissing his temple.

"That jackoff hurt her," Danny muttered.

"Where?"

"Her wrist. I saw him pull her into the car – that musta been when she got the bruise."

"We can measure the bruise, right? Maybe we can compare it to suspects."

Danny nodded. "Maybe she'll talk to you about what happened."

"Doubt it. She's two and a half, Danny, she's not about to testify in court."

"She could at least give us something. She's smart. I'm sure she'd give us something if we asked the right question."

Danny finally showered and got ready for work. He called home four times an hour, just 'checking in.'

Lindsay spent her day playing with Jilly – watching Sesame Street, making cookies with the cookie cutters she'd received from her mother in Montana, eating cookie dough.

Jillian got antsy after her nap. She begged Lindsay to go to the park, but, little to her knowledge, Lindsay and Danny had formed a secret pact to keep her in the house for a couple of days. She definitely wasn't going back to that preschool.

Flack hauled the teacher in, and questioned her thoroughly. He was three seconds from charging her with aiding and abetting a kidnapping before Mac pulled him out of the room.

"I agree with you, Don, but look at her," he said, pointing through the one-way glass at Ms. Walters, her nose snotting and her eyes pouring tears. "She had no part in this. The guy had legitimate identification. She was trying to do Danny and Lindsay a favor by letting Jillian out."

"I know, Mac, I know," Flack said sullenly, "it's just getting to me. We have nothing on this guy, besides a description which matches none of our suspects so far."

Mac placed his hand on Don's shoulder and nodded his agreement. He sighed and walked into the room to question the young woman for anything more that could lead them to the stalker.

Danny made calls to the dog food company whose traces were on the sweatshirt scrap. They'd been closed for two months, and, to their knowledge, the place had been closed up since. Mac sent a patrol unit to check it out, and they verified that nobody had been there in a long time, judging by the swarming rats.

"Enough," Mac finally said to Danny, go home.

Danny arrived to find Jilly screaming in her high chair, and Lindsay crawling on the ground wiping up spilled carrots and peas. He knelt down next to Lindsay, giving her a hurried kiss, and promising that he'd take over. Lindsay looked to be on the verge of a nervous break.

"Go take a break, hon. A bath maybe?"

Lindsay nodded and stood. She worked her stiff legs into the bathroom.

Danny cleaned up the carrots and peas, washed Jillian's hands in the sink, and kissed the top of her head. "You be a good girl for your great-aunt and uncle tomorrow night, OK?"

Jilly grinned at him, showing him the teeth she had. He chuckled and cuddled her to his chest. She'd grown tired of fighting to get outside all day, and, within a few minutes, was asleep in Danny's arms as he cleaned the kitchen. He put her in bed and made his way into the bathroom.

Lindsay was lying with her head on the cool edge of the tub, her eyes closed. Danny heaved a sigh as he sat on the edge above her head. He pulled off his shoes and socks, and rolled up his pants. He planted his feet on either side of Lindsay's slippery form and tapped her awake. She groaned and pulled her knees up.

"Lean forwards," Danny muttered. He brought his hands to her shoulders and rubbed them, working the knots in her back. He massaged her shoulders until he felt them drop beneath his touch, then moved down to work on her lower back.

"I just feel so bad for her," Lindsay said softly.

"Why?"

"She loves going out. I was the same way when I was her age. And here I am, locking her in like she's a prisoner or something."

"It was a mutual decision. Not just you."

"I know," she sighed, and moaned as Danny came upon a particularly dense spot of tension. "But she's so energetic. And she really loves being in the snow. Maybe if I stayed really close –"

"I'm not OK with that."

"Danny, you didn't see her today. She's been so on edge –"

"No."

"You're blaming her for what happened."

"No, I'm not. I'm protecting her."

"We can't let this lock us up." Danny felt her shoulders rising again, and brought his hands up to smooth them back down. "We can't let him control us."

"OK. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Maybe if we all went out, the three of us. And she can't go far. And we have to have a squad car watching us."

Lindsay smiled and leaned back onto Danny's legs. She looked up at him. "Thank you," she whispered. Danny leaned down and kissed her. She broke it and pulled herself up out of the tub, using his legs as a boost to reach his face. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply.

"You're getting me all wet," Danny murmured through her mouth as he felt the bath water seep through his t-shirt.

"Ditto," she whispered back. He lifted her and brought her to the bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

Lindsay was not a fan of plastic shoes. Her see-through high heels were killing her with the force of a thousand blisters. She managed to hide it well, though. She kept herself straight in her favorite blue dress – the shimmer-y one with a bounce to it, such that when she walked, the dress oscillated and jounced with her. It was just too bad that she couldn't spend the outfit on a dinner with Danny. She just _had _to meet with her old chemistry professor, a soggy, nasally woman with a constant frown and lipstick on her teeth. Lindsay owed Dr. Lithe everything, though. She'd convinced Lindsay to take biology instead of a class in literature, a choice that had sent Lindsay well on her way to becoming a CSI.

They'd gone out to the NY Philharmonic after dinner. The whole thing was a little long for Lindsay's taste. _Mac and Cheese with Danny and Jillian would be exponentially better than this, _Lindsay kept thinking as the sounds of Dvorak's "New World Symphony" worked their way to her ears. She loved classical music, she did, but with what had been going on lately, she found herself wishing she were with Jilly constantly.

When Dr. Lithe had been called away to a family emergency (her husband had smashed his hand in a door), Lindsay had been left with her new, fancy dress, and no husband to take it off.

_If my stalker wanted to come at me, now would be the perfect time, _thought Lindsay remorsefully as she clicked down the concrete. She straightened. _Come and get me, you stupid brute! _she thought. She regretted having waved off the patrol car the day earlier (_Danny, I will not be followed like some kind of suspect! _she'd screamed at him as he protested loudly).

She decided against walking to the subway alone. She pulled out her cell phone and pressed her first speed dial.

"Danny?"

"_Hey. Concert boring ya?"_

"Something like that. Hey, could you come pick me up?"

"_Sure. Where are you?"_

"About two blocks from the Opera House."

"_Whaddya doin there?" His voice sounded quick._

"Um …"

"_Where's your teacher?"_

"She had to go home."

"_Lemme get this straight. You're alone, two blocks from the Opera House, at midnight?"_

"That sounds about right."

_He sighed. "Get inside somewhere and give me a better address. Don't leave."_

She clicked into a bar and gave him the name. She ordered a drink to pass the time away, worrying about Jilly. She was safe; Lindsay knew that. Danny's aunt and uncle had her, and there was a squad car plopped right outside the house. But still. _She's my daughter, after all. I have a perfect right to worry about her whenever I want. _

Lindsay caught her own reflection in the mirror at the back of the bar, and marveled yet again at the fabric of her dress through the part in her jacket. She twirled slightly in the chair, loving the silky feel around her stomach.

Movement behind her caught her attention. Her vision froze on an all-too familiar gray hoodie. Lindsay carefully set down her drink. _He's not getting away this time, _she thought. She got up from her chair and turned casually, glancing around the bar to find the image that matched the reflection.

She saw him at the edge of the room, near the rear exit door. She walked slowly towards him, brushing gently past the closely packed people. Only a few feet from him, he caught her eye. Lindsay gasped. _It can't be. _The man shoved the door open and disappeared into the night. Lindsay moved quickly forwards and ran after him.

The door barely shut behind her when she felt a smack at the side of her head. She slammed forwards into the adjoining wall. She whipped around quickly, hands already up, head spinning.

"What are you doing?" She screamed at the shadow in front of her.

"You know what," he retorted, swinging his fist at her.

Lindsay sidestepped the punch, grabbing his wrist, scratching him deeply. She twisted it backwards and brought it behind his back.

The man shoved her against the wall with the weight of his body.

His bulk crushing her, coupled with her already-hazy vision, was too much. She let go, and stumbled to the left.

The man followed her, picking up the same two by four he'd used to hit her the first time.

"Hit me with your best shot," Lindsay mumbled, the Pat Benatar song rolling through her jumbled mind.

The man swung the piece of wood at Lindsay's head.

She bent her knees and effectively ducked the blow. She sent a powerful punch to the man's stomach, doubling him.

The man tumbled backwards, falling on his butt. He quickly scrambled to his feet, one arm nursing his stomach.

"You can't beat me," he said to Lindsay.

"You know I can, Greg. I have before." Lindsay brought her fists up. The man brought his left arm up to slap her.

Lindsay blocked it, but was blindsided by a blow from his right hand. She reeled back and hit the alley wall again with a shriek. She could feel the blood dripping from a scratch above her eye. She blinked, her vision hazy.

The man turned, distracted by a commotion within the bar that Lindsay could not hear with the ringing in her ears.

Greg ran, speeding for the street to his left. He faded into the night, and Lindsay watched him go through a roaring guitar solo and the hum of the people inside.

"-shouldn't have – LINDSAY!" Danny bellowed, racing towards her. The dazed bartender followed him, having come from a tongue lashing by Danny.

"Look, man, if I'da known she was out here like –"

"Just go call an ambulance. NOW!" Danny screamed at him before turning back to Lindsay.

"Montana? Honey, let me see," he said, trying to pull Lindsay's hands from the cuts on the side of her head and above her eye. He needed to see the wound to assess it. When she wouldn't move her hands with gentle words, Danny resorted to prying her hands from the cuts.

"Fire away," Lindsay slurred.

"Sweetheart, what are you saying?" Danny asked, concerned.

"You should find Greg. Greg went that way," Lindsay said, pointing a scraped hand to her right.

Danny paused, and placed his hands on her face gently. He pulled her close and checked her eyes. Her pupils were fine. He smelled her breath. She wasn't drunk. "Baby, I think you have a concussion."

"'M fine. Go get Greg."

"Who's Greg?"

"Greg left."

The screams of the sirens sounded in the distance. "Lindsay, honey, just keep talkin', OK?"

"Don' wanna. I'm tired, Danny. Let's go to bed."

"Linds, you gotta stay awake." He pulled her upright from her leaning position on the wall. "Stay up, honey."

She started to whimper, "No, Danny, no, I can't." Her eyelids fluttered.

Danny cupped her cheek with his cold glove. He pulled her jacket from her shoulders, baring her to the cold air.

"Ow, cold, Danny."

"Yeah I know. Keep talkin'."

"About what?"

"About … uh … phisics. Tell me about it."

"Between – no, I don't want to."

"Lindsay …" he warned

"Final 'x' position is equal to one half acceleration times time squared plus velocity naught times time plus -" the jumbled words flung themselves from the back of her mind. She knew Danny was right, and wondered if her brain function was still top notch.

The paramedics raced over, their bags swinging in their hands. Danny told them about the presumed concussion. Danny and the paramedics kept her talking until she was at the hospital. She threw up there, with Danny stroking the back of her head carefully and holding her hair back.

The doctor informed Danny that he didn't have to keep her awake, but it was probably a good idea. They dressed the wound, and left Danny and Lindsay in a curtained bed.

"I feel fine, Danny. It's been four hours. Can we _please_ go home?"

"Nope." Danny pressed the ice pack to the side of her head gingerly. Lindsay winced. Danny apologized with a kiss to her shoulder. "You didn't wear gloves to the concert."

"Well I can't _find _any of mine."

"Where are they?"

"I have no idea. That's why I can't find them."

"Do you really not remember who attacked you?"

She scrunched up her nose in concentration, then winced when the bruise above her eye throbbed. "No," she said slowly, "but I'm sure when this BLINDING HEADACHE goes away, I'll remember."

Danny sighed, pressing the ice pack to the side of her head and wondering about her gloves.

* * *

_P. S. Thanks for the reviews guys. By the way, doesn't "Danny and the paramedics" sound like the worst band ever?_

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

_I guess I have a lot of questions to answer … :)_

* * *

"Linds?" Danny asked. Her back was pressed close to his chest. He played with her hair, moving it away from the bandage on the side of her face.

She rolled slightly to look at him. "Danny. It's five in the morning. I have not slept."

"I know. Just – who's Greg?"

Lindsay shuddered involuntarily. "How do you know about Greg?"

"I – I don't. You were talking about him when I found you at the bar."

Lindsay turned back on her side and wiggled further away from Danny. "In the morning."

"Hey," Danny murmured, and scooted across the bed. He wrapped his arm around her and threw a leg over hers, pulling her to him. He kissed her cheek, cautious of the bandage on her head. "You scared of him?"

"A little," she squeaked. "It was a long time ago."

"We can talk in the morning, if you –"

"Yes. Now let me go to sleep!" She hissed, and closed her eyes.

Danny left her asleep around two hours later, placing a toasted bagel and cream cheese on the bedside table and a note alerting her to the squad car outside the apartment. He returned with a babbling Jilly, who told him all about the tiger she'd seen at her great-aunt's house. Danny wasn't exactly sure if he believed her, but nodded his head enthusiastically anyways.

They took Jillian to the park, and ran her out. Danny bet Lindsay under his breath that if they could get her to fall asleep, then she'd put off the park requests for at least a week. Lindsay took his bet. If Lindsay won, Danny would take her out to a nice restaurant dinner. If Danny won, Lindsay would spend an entire day in bed with him. Lindsay neglected to tell Danny that, after a date with him, she was planning on doing that anyways.

Danny spent their time at the park helping Jillian chase pigeons, being chased by Jillian, and chasing Jillian away from the pigeons. He came back to Lindsay every three minutes, checking her cuts, ignoring her protests of suffocation, and asking if she needed to go back to rest her head.

"Danny. Stop. I'm fine. My head doesn't hurt anymore."

"Then why can't you remember what happened?"

Lindsay averted her eyes and shrugged.

After a quick glance at Jillian, who was poking a branch that was peeking from the iron railing, he turned back to Lindsay. "Honey, would you be mad if I said I knew you were lying?"

"Yes." She scrunched up her nose.

Danny ran his hand gently along her cheek, brushing the hair behind her ear. She leaned into his hand.

Jillian shrieked. Danny whipped around, his hand on the gun he'd strapped to his waist before leaving the apartment.

He relaxed when he realized that she'd seen a bird perched on the fence, and had fallen in her attempts to snag it.

"We'll talk," he promised Lindsay, and raced after Jillian to stop her from chasing the bird into oncoming traffic.

Lindsay smiled and turned away from the street, away from the tall buildings and screeching metal, and squinted at the trees to her left. If she narrowed her vision enough, she could pretend that she was in a forest, surrounded by trees.

Danny tapped her out of her dream-world. "Sorry you can't play with her," Danny said, fingering the bruise on Lindsay's head again.

"I'll be back to normal in a day or so. The doctor said."

They watched Jillian play in front of them, letting her lead them through the park. Danny saw her eyelids drooping by the third hour. He threw a smug look at Lindsay, and picked Jilly up, wrapping her in his leather jacket. He zipped up the bottom part, just so only Jilly's head could be seen, and held her to his chest.

He and Lindsay turned and started the walk back to their apartment. "So, who's Greg?" Danny asked.

Lindsay took a deep breath. "When I was starting out as a CSI, I shared a house with a friend of mine. Her name was Trudy. She was so funny – and she could crochet like no other. You know that sweater I have? The light green one?"

"Uh huh."

"She made that."

"Wow."

"I know. She was the sweetest person. She had this brother who – who wasn't right. Something about him … I could never place it. He and Trudy used to have these yelling matches. They'd scream so loud the neighbors would complain. They were about the strangest things – Trudy didn't call one night, she didn't send their father a birthday present one year – and we'd never expect them; Greg would just show up and start screaming. Some days, the two of us would come home and we'd see that he'd moved things around the apartment. He used to take Trudy's hairbrush. She could never find it once he'd been there."

Lindsay was quiet for a while. She seemed to be thinking something over.

"What did he do to her?"

"I don't know." She sighed heavily. "I lost touch with Trudy about a year after we bought the house. She moved out, another girl moved in – I felt bad about it, but I never really reached out to Trudy after that. A couple of months after she moved out, we got a call out to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. It was Trudy's. There was blood all over the floor, and she was nowhere to be found. We never found a body."

Danny's arm found its way around Lindsay's waist.

"Greg killed her," he said slowly.

"I could never prove it. Habeas corpus, right? I looked all through those woods. I didn't find anything except a couple of mussed footprints and some oddly broken branches."

They walked in silence for a while, each listening to the sounds of the city.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

"The thing is - I didn't really know her that well. We talked now and then, and I really liked her, but we weren't that close. My biggest regret is that I didn't know her better. And to top it all off, I could never place Greg at the scene."

"So you think he might be the one stalking us."

"I recognized him at the bar."

They arrived at their apartment, and with one wary glance around him and a nod at the patrol car, Danny walked up to the apartment.

He was pleased to note that Jilly didn't seem cold at all; his body heat and jacket had kept her warm for the walk home.

Lindsay stretched out on the couch and closed her eyes, placing her hand on her forehead. A bruise had popped up over her eye. Danny got an ice pack from the fridge and some aspirin and brought them over to her.

"I gotta say," he muttered, "you did pretty well for yourself in high heels and a dress." He put the ice pack over the bruise and put the aspirin on the table in case she asked for it.

"You should see the other guy," she said lazily, placing her hand over his.


	11. Chapter 11

_Yay! Eleventh chapter. Ew... Spanish AP tomorrow ..._

* * *

Lindsay awoke the next day to find herself face to face with her daughter's pajama covered bottom. She sat up, brow furrowed in confusion, and looked around, blinking. Her eye caught on a note on Danny's side of the bed, attached to the side of his pillowcase with a paperclip.

"_Had to get to work. J had a nightmare. I put her in with you. Back before dinner. Officer Ellis outside. Do NOT send him away/insult him/hurt him. Love, Danny"_

"Wasn't planning on it …" she grumbled. She glanced over at Jilly, sleeping curled between the pillows with her bottom plopped high up on Lindsay's pillow. Her nearly-fluorescent yellow pajamas covered the majority of her body, making her appear like a giant blob of butter gobbed onto their bed. Lindsay giggled. She smoothed Jilly's hair with a hand and crawled out of bed. She found her way to the kitchen, where a pot of hot coffee and a covered plate sat waiting for her. She lifted the cover off of the plate and found still-steaming pancakes, with a note on top –

"_Take it easy today. Please. Love, the best husband ever."_

She chuckled, and set aside one pancake for Jilly before starting in on the other. It was only a few minutes before Jilly trundled out into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes with one hand and reaching up to Lindsay with the other.

"Hi, baby," Lindsay said happily, and leaned down to pick her up. She shifted her up onto one hip and cut up a pancake for her. She tried not to look at the ring of bruise around Jilly's wrist. Jilly didn't seem to notice anymore.

Lindsay settled Jilly down in front of the television to watch cartoons before checking on Officer Ellis outside the door.

"Hey, Mike."

"Hey, Messer. How you doin?" He asked, eyeing the bandage on the side of Lindsay's head and the cut above her eye.

"Pretty good. So … did Danny say anything to you?"

"Yeah; said if you wanted to go to the park, it ain't gonna happen."

Lindsay smiled. "Is that all?"

"He also said if anything happened to you, he'd hunt me down and kill me," Mike said with a grin.

"It's just the park …" Lindsay wheedled.

"He said if you tried anything, I had to tell him," Officer Ellis said firmly, and turned away to face the hallway, a not-so-hidden smirk on his face.

Lindsay heaved a sigh and wandered back into the living room, plopping onto the couch. "Looks like we're stuck here, Jillian," she said dully. Jilly jumped to her feet and threw her hands in the air.

"YAY!" She shouted.

Lindsay laughed. "Are you trying to cheer me up?" She asked.

Jilly giggled and crawled onto the couch. She jumped up and down next to Lindsay. "Come jumping, Mommy, come jumping!" She called.

Lindsay laughed at the sight of Jilly, leaping up and down all over the cushion as her curls bounced happily.

"How about I get us dressed, first?" Lindsay asked. Jilly jumped into the air one last time before landing on her butt with a pout.

Lindsay winked at her before jumping to her feet on the couch and giving it a good, hard jiggle with her feet. Jilly shrieked with laughter.

Lindsay pulled Jilly up, and brought her to her bedroom. She brushed her curls and dressed her in her favorite set of periwinkle overalls with sequins around the pockets. She set her on the ground and shooed her off to the toys near her crib. She made sure Jilly was occupied with a toy police car (a gift from Flack the past Christmas) before heading into her own bedroom.

She threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, after sneakily putting on a red, lacy pair of underwear and her matching push-up bra. Danny was getting punished for the park embargo. _Cue evil laugh, _Lindsay thought.

She convinced Officer Ellis to accompany them to the bodega a block away to get lunch. Lindsay swore she wouldn't tell Danny.

When Danny arrived later that night with take-out from her favorite Indian restaurant, Lindsay eyed him with heavily mascara'd eyelashes. Danny gulped. He was distracted when Jilly threw herself at him full force, and he absolutely _had _to pick her up and tickle her until she cried uncle. He fed her quickly, chased her around the apartment to wear her out more, and finally got her sleeping.

He covered her up to her chin with her blanket, rubbing his thumb over her forehead. He turned around to find Lindsay leaning on the doorframe.

"Hi," she said with a grin.

"Uh, hey," he said. He walked out, nearly pushing past her, and made his way to the kitchen to clean up. He avoided her eyes, throwing away the cartons and washing the plates in the sink.

He turned around midway through the washing of the glass to find her sitting on the counter, swinging her legs and stretching.

"No," he said hoarsely, "you can't go to the park."

She laughed teasingly, bringing one leg up suggestively to rest on the counter with her. "Who said anything about the park?"

They stared at each other for a moment before Lindsay leaped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him with such fire that, for a moment, he had no idea what hit him. He stumbled backwards, only to find that she'd used his backwards momentum to reach between them and pull of his shirt. She threw it to the side. He hooked his arms under each of her thighs and brought her deeper to him.

When he pulled off her shirt, he knew he should suspect something. That bra was too … too magnificent to be true. He eyed her carefully, but she distracted him with a pull to the back of his neck.

When he tugged off her pants, he knew she had something planned. "OK, why the new underclothes?"

Lindsay pouted. "You don't like them?"

"What do you want from me, ya vixen?"

Lindsay outright laughed. Danny took that as a simple 'nothing,' and decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth. He reached behind her to unsnap the bra, but she pushed him away.

He looked at her with confusion in his eyes and tried again. She pushed him back a second time.

"Alright, what is this?" He asked.

"No more."

"What?"

"They don't come off until you promise we go to the park."

He groaned dramatically and leaned his head on her chest. "Whassa big deal? It's just a park."

"We get antsy," Lindsay explained.

"Fine," Danny murmured, and kissed her again. She pushed him back.

"What now?" He asked exasperatedly.

"You have to say it."

"Fine – tomorrow, we will work out a way to get to the park."

"Good," she said, and pulled him towards her.

He grinned against her lips. "Manipulative little…"

She chuckled, and let him unwrap his present.


	12. Chapter 12

_Picks up right after the last chapter._

* * *

They lay in bed afterwards, still simmering down, their bodies still entwined. Danny trailed a finger up Lindsay's stomach lazily.

"So," he said, placing a kiss above her temple, "guess what I found out today."

"What," she said dreamily.

"I ID'd him officially."

She shifted to look up at him. "It was Greg? The guy you saw taking Jilly?"

Danny nodded. He paused to suck the skin of Lindsay's shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"Greg Moody. He's got a record for stalking, and a couple of restraining orders from girlfriends over the years."

Lindsay sighed and pressed her face into Danny's chest. "Crap," she muttered. He could feel her mouth moving on his skin as she said it. He felt her eyes shut tightly.

He brought his hand up to pet her hair, trailing it through his fingers. "I got a warrant out for his arrest."

"You didn't say anything earlier," she said. Her voice was strained.

"I didn't want to say it in front of Jilly."

"She went to bed three hours ago."

"Yeah, and what've we been doin' since then?"

Lindsay grinned against his chest. "You couldn't have stopped me?"

"There was no humanly force in my body that woulda let me."

Lindsay laughed.

Their talking dropped off, and Lindsay fell asleep as she was, burrowed into the concave shape his body made around her. He stayed up, though, observing and worrying over the cut to the side of her head. It was healing cleanly, just like the doctor had promised, and the swelling to the side of her head was nearly invisible. But still. He promised himself to make her get a CAT scan later, just in case.

The next day, they went to work together, Jilly held tightly in Lindsay's arms. Danny held Lindsay's hand as they walked into the building, leaning over now and again to adjust the bright red jacket that buried Jilly.

"Danny, she's fine. And look, we're right here."

"It's cold!" He protested.

"See? We're already in the building."

Danny made a clicking sound with his mouth, and tucked the jacket one more time. They'd had to come in early, by six o'clock a.m. Jilly was still in her pajamas, the blue chicken-print ones. One chicken-patterned arm stuck from the jacket that covered her loosely, and wrapped itself around her mother's neck.

"She's going to get really bored here," Lindsay said dully, speaking partially for herself.

"We'll put games in the breakroom or something. Plus, you'll be with her."

"Why can't I work yet? Remind me again, I seem to have forgotten what with your stupid excuse and everything."

Danny shot her a look. "One of us has gotta be with her, and you're the hurt one."

"Super," Lindsay deadpanned.

Danny laughed and dragged her into the elevator.

He met up with her after his shift. She was asleep on the couch, Jilly sitting on her stomach and fiddling with an extremely dilapidated teddy bear. She looked up at Danny when he walked in, immediately stretching her arms up to him.

"Daddy!" She said happily.

Danny put his finger to his lips and lifted her off of Lindsay. He winced to see Lindsay rubbing her eyes and wiggling her way to a sitting position.

"No, no, no," he said weakly, "sleep."

She shook her head and smiled. She sat back with a sigh. "Lord above, I'm bored."

Danny laughed. "Wanna go out tonight?"

Lindsay looked doubtfully at him, then at Jilly, the back again. "I don't want to leave her …"

"I already got Stella to babysit."

Lindsay's eyes widened in delight. "Score!"

Danny smiled and kissed her head, "Gotta keep my wife from goin' crazy."

They left Jillian with Stella and a truckload of various toys and books. Lindsay placed the Mother Goose book on top of everything, explaining to Stella that it was all Jillian would read.

"We'll be fine. I have a couple of new clothes for her anyways. We might have a baby fashion show or something," she laughed.

Danny looked at Lindsay with a horrified face. They'd interviewed an entire "Little Miss America" pageant only a few weeks before, and Danny was still scarred by the amount of makeup layered onto kids only a couple of years older than his own daughter.

Lindsay informed him that Stella was kidding, but her wink to Danny only moments later caused him to wince.

Danny had already made reservations, which allotted time for a quick clothing change at the apartment.

Lindsay pressed him for the style of clothes she should wear, to which he responded none. She was seconds from smacking him on the head before he relented and picked out a dress for her.

It was her white one that reminded her of Marilyn Monroe in _The Seven Year Itch. _It was bunched at the waist, and flowed down to her knees. Danny pulled a double take when he saw her, full on dropping the shoe he was planning to put on.

"Jesus, Linds."

"Thanks," she smiled, and applied pink lipstick, simultaneously brushing her hair with her fingers so it covered the scrape on the side of her head. Danny's eyes narrowed as he watched her, his mind centered on finding the guy who'd hurt her. _Then again, from the amount of blood that _wasn't _hers in that alley, she did pretty damn good herself. But still. No guy messes with _my _wife and _my _kid and gets away with it._

He helped her with her thick gray jacket before taking her hand and walking with her to the car.

He took her to an expensive French restaurant in midtown. He practically split his lip from smiling at the stunned expression on her face when they walked in. The hostess took their coats and seated them in a secluded table illuminated with candlelight. Lindsay traced her stiletto'd foot up Danny's calf while she stared absentmindedly at the flickering flame, the tiny shadows squirming and dancing in the light.

Over bread, his hand slid her dress up so slightly while she smoothed butter with the flat edge of a knife.

After the salad arrived, she sucked dressing from his pinkie finger, closing her eyes to the world.

She ate coq au vin with her eyes staring darkly at his, smiling as he tapped his foot on the ground anxiously.

During desert, he fed her chocolate mousse in tiny bites, just to tease her. He called for the check and a take-home box when she whispered what they could do with the rest of it into his ear.

"It's a good thing we got Stella to take her for the night," Danny mumbled into Lindsay's mouth outside the restaurant. He'd pressed her to the car, moving his hips against hers and tightening his grasp on her hair.

They'd just parked outside the apartment when he saw the shadow against the wall.

"No," he groaned.

Lindsay looked up from the soon-to-be hickey on Danny's neck. "Something wrong?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he groaned, go inside.

"What? Why?"

Danny jerked his head in the direction of the orange glow of a cigarette, attached to a man with an all-to-familiar gray hoodie.

"Oh," she said slowly.

Danny pulled his gun from the glove compartment and tucked it into his dress pants, hiding it with his dark blue oxford shirt.

"OK," he said, and got out of the car. He waited for Lindsay to come around to his side, keeping an eye on the glow of the cigarette, alert for any movement.

Lindsay grasped his hand tightly, and he pulled her close and threw an arm over her. He could feel her warm skin through the dress, which peeked through her heavy coat. He gave her waist a squeeze with his hand, reassuring her that everything was going to be fine.

He made sure she was safely in the elevator before instructing her to call Flack immediately, to make sure Stella and Jilly were OK, and to lock the doors and to lock herself in the bedroom until he said it was OK.

She had no intention of doing all he said, but agreed anyways. She headed up to the apartment and called Flack, then Stella, and got her gun. Then she headed for the door.

* * *

_Author's note: Woo hoo! Cliffhanger mania! _


	13. Chapter 13

_I'm sorry it's been so long!_

* * *

Lindsay stumbled out of the building to find Danny delivering a swift kick to a crumpled form before him.

"Danny!" she called.

He looked up, panting. "Linds, get outta here. Go back inside."

She ignored him and walked his way. "Danny – what did you do to him?"

"He got what he deserved." Danny truly believed it, too. He'd given Greg exactly what Greg had given them, or more accurately, what Danny viewed as "an eye for an eye." There were five punches to the face for Lindsay's attack, a slam against the wall for the anxiety Greg had caused, and (the most satisfying) a series of hard kicks to Greg's stomach for Jilly's wrists and her nightmares.

Lindsay looked down at Greg. He wasn't as hurt as he seemed to be, she found. His nose was bleeding, his cheekbone had a nasty, thick slice on it, and he held his stomach as though it was made of glass.

Lindsay subconsciously pressed herself back into Danny, feeling his arm reel her into his chest.

"You call Flack?" he asked, still breathing heavily.

She nodded. "Greg …" she said quietly.

Greg grunted and shifted to look at her.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"I … came to see you."

"Why did you try to take my daughter?" Lindsay asked, her voice cracking on the last syllable. "She didn't do anything."

"She was always … there. I just … wanted …" he groaned loudly, spitting blood onto the ground near his cheek. "I had to talk to you alone."

"So you _took _her?" Danny snarled, stepping in front of Lindsay and shoving Greg onto his back with his foot, "You bruised a three-year-old's wrists and tried to _kidnap _our _daughter?_" He stepped onto Greg's stomach, pressing where his fists had been only minutes before.

Lindsay turned her head away, focusing instead on the faint blue and red lights flashing down their street, sirens whirring and yelling.

"I should kill you now. After all you've done, what I can _tell them_ you've done, nobody would convict me of murder," Danny said coldly, "but I won't. 'Cause, MAN do you have a lot more to explain."

Flack's car skidded to a stop in front of their apartment building. He had a few quick words with Danny about what happened before grabbing Greg off of the ground and handcuffing him.

Once the sirens were gone and Danny and Lindsay were left puffing cold air on the dead-silent street, Lindsay sighed.

Danny looked down at her, bundled into his embrace. "Wassa matter?"

"What could possibly be the matter?" she asked dully, pressing her face into his chest.

"I swear we'll get him. He won't be back."

"You don't know him." Her voice was muffled. He wasn't sure, but she sounded pained.

"Doesn't matter. He won't hurt us."

"He always came back. Trudy did everything. She had restraining orders, security systems. Greg was one of the reasons she bunked with me."

"She wanted you to protect her?"

"Something like that. She thought he wouldn't come if I were there. But it didn't work. He was always back. He got out of her murder. He'll get out of this."

"You know I won't let that happen."

She was silent. He swayed from side to side, arms still wrapped around her. She looked out at the empty street, dark orange in the glow of the city, and knew that what Danny promised was true. He'd do absolutely anything to keep her and Jilly safe. But Lindsay couldn't deny that there were things she didn't want Danny to do. She knew he'd kill for her. He'd nearly reached that irreversible state on several of their more dangerous crime scenes. His finger had been on the trigger, ready to kill, but he'd never had to. Not specifically for her.

Lindsay shivered as she watched the beginnings of snow fall – light, wispy flecks of snow that melted instantly.

"Can we go inside now, or are you planning on stayin' out here all night?" Danny asked.

"It's snowing," Lindsay responded.

"Jilly's gonna go nuts," Danny said happily. "C'mon," he whispered, pulling her to the door of their building.

She said nothing until they were curled around each other in bed under the extra blankets Danny had found.

"We've got to find a new preschool."

"I know," he mumbled into her neck.

"Want to start tomorrow?"

"How about no more preschool? She can start kindergarten when she's five. We don't need a preschool."

"Two and a half years of babysitters? No other contact with kids her age? I don't think so."

"Please?" Danny whined, "She's too young. They're too stupid to take care of her."

"Danny …" Lindsay warned.

"She's our daughter. We can't just give her to anyone."

"We'll talk in the morning," she said, shivering under the still-cold blankets.

Danny grunted his agreement and nuzzled in closer to Lindsay.

Stella dropped off Jilly early in the morning. Lindsay opened the door only to have her daughter slam into her legs.

"Oof," she exclaimed, and picked up the tiny fireball of energy.

Jilly was dressed in a lime green striped t-shirt and a pink, lightweight tutu skirt. She had black boots and hot pink tights. She jabbered to Lindsay about her new hat.

"I see she picked out her own clothes today …" Lindsay said carefully.

"Girl's got style. I have no clue what kind of style it is, but she's pretty creative."

Lindsay laughed and helped Jilly pull off her shoes.

Lindsay thanked Stella and walked her out. When she turned back to the apartment, Jilly had invented a new game of sliding around the hardwood floors in her tights.

"Let's go wake up daddy, Jillian," Lindsay said.

Jilly took her mother's hand and they crept into the bedroom. Danny was sprawled out, face up, in sweats and a t-shirt, his face turned to one side, buried in a pillow.

Lindsay lifted Jilly onto the bed. Jilly bounced slowly at first, then gathering speed, until she was shaking the bed with each jump.

When Danny still didn't wake up, Lindsay crawled on top of him and sat on his stomach, shaking his shoulders.

"Da-a-a-ny," she called.

"Da-a-a-addy," Jilly giggled.

"No," Danny groaned. He cracked one eye open to find Lindsay on his stomach. Jilly crawled onto his arm.

"Grah," Danny grunted, stretching. He stretched so wide that Lindsay tumbled onto his chest. Jilly gave a squeak as she was rolled over onto Lindsay's pillow.

Danny laughed, proud of himself.

Jilly, suddenly tired, crawled into the curve of Danny's arm and rested her head.

"Guess what, JJ?" Danny asked.

She squeaked in response. Lindsay laughed.

"Your mommy and I got a bad guy yesterday."

"The mean one?" Jilly asked.

"Yup," Danny said softly, bending his arm to smooth Jilly's soft yellow curls. "He's goin' away."

Lindsay nuzzled her nose into Danny's neck, watching Jilly.

Jilly didn't seem to register much, but she smiled anyways. She played with the sleeve of Danny's shirt for a while, smiling and kicking her feet. Finally she sat up.

"Park?" she asked hopefully.

"Good lord," Lindsay mumbled.


	14. Chapter 14

_My goodness it's been a while. Well, there's one sort of rated M part. So watch out._

* * *

"All I'm sayin' is, you should get away."

"And all _I'm _saying is that we should stay together," Lindsay retorted, staring at her husband with her arms crossed.

"Please?" he wheedled. He picked Jilly up from the ground and held her, swinging her back and forth in his arms while he pouted at Lindsay.

"Danny, that's ridiculous. We have to stay together."

"I have work."

"What, I don't?"

"Well, one of us has to work. And I say it should be me."

Lindsay gave a frustrated groan and ran a hand through her hair. She turned away from her husband and daughter and took a sip of her coffee. She looked out the window at the smoggy streets, the dark, gray snow, and admitted to herself that yes, a little vacation to Montana would be perfect. _But just me and Jilly? Two weeks without Danny? Without sex with Danny?_ She laughed softly at herself.

"So waddya say?" Danny asked impatiently, hopping from foot to foot behind her.

"I don't know, Danny, OK? Just give me some time."

"Well, just know that if you stay, you won't be alone. He's out on bail until the trial. That's a long time without spendin' a day all on your own."

She turned around, putting her cup down with a clank. "Danny, would you please just stop?" She yelled. She stomped off to the bedroom and threw herself down on the bed, covering her head with a pillow.

Danny watched her flounce away, and decided not to go after her. She needed time alone, anyways. She'd been going stir crazy since Greg had gotten out on bail. Part of the reason he wanted her to go to Montana for a little while was so she could relax. Sometimes he would hear her walking around at night, trying to work off her insomnia. She double locked the windows and doors, just like he did, every night. Some mornings he would wake up to find her on the rocking chair in Jilly's room, sleeping with Jilly on her lap, tears dried on Lindsay's cheeks.

The kidnapping had taken its toll on Lindsay the most. They'd been relying on babysitters for the past week, procrastinating on finding Jilly a new preschool. And while Lindsay was the one pushing for starting again, Danny knew she was as scared, if not more, as he was. If she didn't see Jilly for three consecutive hours, she got antsy and mean. The lab techs had learned to avoid her on her double shift days.

She was pale and wan, and her fingernails had been bitten to the quick. So Danny didn't feel guilty that he was pushing for this little trip so much. He didn't care how angry it made her, because he knew she needed it.

He kissed Jilly on the top of the head and set about making her pancakes. She talked to him while in her high chair, banging her cup on the plastic table and telling him about Uncle Don's purple socks.

Once the plates were cleaned and Jilly was wiped down of all traces of sticky maple syrup, Lindsay wandered into the kitchen. She took a sponge and wiped down Jilly's high chair table slowly, making large, soapy circles, watching Jilly play with a strainer on the floor.

"I'll come with you to help you get settled," Danny said softly. "I'll fly out with you."

She pursed her lips and slowed the sponge.

"It's just two weeks." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "Just two little weeks." He kissed her neck. "Baby, you need this."

She sighed and put her arms over his, twining their fingers. "Just two weeks."

"You'll be with your dad, you'll get to see him again. I know how much you've missed him."

"And you'll come out with us? To help us get set up?"

He nodded and hugged her closer.

"Because you know Jilly has her nightmares and you're the best one at calming her down," Lindsay said, "and she wouldn't like it if you were gone for too long. You know how scared she gets at night."

Danny swung her slowly from side to side, his breath warm and soft on her neck. "I know."

"OK. Fine. Two weeks."

"Until the trial."

Lindsay looked up suspiciously. "Which is in two weeks."

He nodded. "Yes, Linds. I'm not trying to trick you. Two weeks."

"I don't want to be without you for that long," she said, tears pricking in her eyes. "I miss you."

"I know, honey." He brought his hands to the sides of her face and kissed her slowly until Jilly dropped the strainer with a crash.

Danny broke the kiss. He and Lindsay looked down at her.

"Oops!" she said, throwing her hands in the air. "Kiss, daddy!"

Danny lifted her up and gave her a noisy kiss on her cheek. "Better?"

She nodded and laughed.

The day of the flight, Lindsay packed the sparkly-est, most distracting objects she could and shoved them all into a bag for Jilly. She knew how annoying a baby could be on a plane ride, especially one as long as the one she was about to get on.

"What time do we get in?" she asked Danny as he helped the woman at the counter weigh the baggage.

"Nine at night. Stop worrying, Montana, it's gonna be fine."

She couldn't help but worry, though, as they boarded the flight. She did miss her father, true, but he wasn't the most talkative man in the world. She'd gotten used to the city, with its bright lights and ever-present noise. She wasn't sure if she could handle two weeks in a little cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Her father picked them up at the airport. He didn't bother to change out of his heavy carhats, thick pants stained with grease and mud. He nodded to Danny and gave Jilly a pat on the head. Jilly stared at him with her little red mouth open in awe. She'd been stunned by her grandfather since she was born. She had never cried in front of him, never did much but whimper or smile uncomfortably.

Danny slung Lindsay's bag over his shoulder and followed Caleb Monroe out to the truck. They dumped the bags in the back, covering them with the tarp to protect from the heavy snow falling, and piled into the front seat. Jilly sat on Lindsay's lap and dozed.

They set Jilly up in Lindsay's brother Nate's room, with a crib unearthed from the cellar. Danny and Lindsay lay in Lindsay's old bed, surrounded by her old things.

"It's late, baby, come on to bed," Danny hissed at her as he took off his shoes. She wandered around the room, familiarizing herself with all her old things.

"I can't sleep."

"Well, that's why we're here. There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not tired."

"I know that. Just c'mere, alright?"

She walked over to him and stood between his legs, looking him in the eyes. As he watched, she started to tear up, and one drip of water trickled from her eye, slipping down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb and wiped it away.

She sniffed and hugged him, pressing herself to him tightly. He felt her shudder against him as she cried silently.

"Please don't go, Danny," she moaned softly.

"I gotta, Linds." He kissed her cheek and lifted her, letting her wrap her legs around his waist before sitting back down on the bed. He smoothed her back and threaded his fingers through her hair, rocking her to a sleep.

She brought her head up abruptly and kissed him. "Just one last time?"

He chuckled. "Two weeks, Linds. It's not the last. Just the last before a little break."

"Whatever you want to call it," she mumbled, tearing open his shirt.

She cried again when he pulled out of her, when it was all over. He pulled her to him and let her sob into his chest, muffling her with the heavy quilt he pulled over them. He felt his shirt become damp, then right out wet with her tears.

She didn't when she drove him to the airport the next morning, but Jilly did, one long, high-pitched wail as he waved goodbye from the other side of the security gate. Danny blew her a kiss.

"We'll see him when we go home," Lindsay promised, "and you'll talk to him every night." She jiggled Jilly on her hip, pointing to Danny and waving goodbye.

Jilly said nothing, just cried. She cried all the way home, until she wore herself out with the crying and fell asleep in the seat of the truck where Danny had just been sitting.

Lindsay touched her hair as she drove with one hand, feeling the soft, blonde locks. "We'll be fine," she said firmly."


	15. Chapter 15

_Thanks to webdlfan for the kick in the pants._

* * *

Lindsay chopped wood solemnly. She grunted as she swung the axe each time, pretending it was everything she had to worry about. Between chops, she glanced over at Jilly, sitting on the porch and playing with her toy fire-truck. She made 'vroom' sounds and the sirens. Lindsay smiled and turned back to her work. Her father had come down with a slight cold, so Lindsay had to start up the furnace.

"Well, look who it is!" she heard from behind her. She slammed the axe into the chopping block and looked around.

Ben Wallace, Lindsay's first boyfriend, beamed back at her, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Lindsay smiled back and went over to give him a hug. "Hey, Benny, how've you been?" she asked.

"I've been OK – hey, what's this about not telling me you were in town?"

Lindsay gave him a weak grin. "I don't kn-"

"Well, how long have you been back?"

Lindsay shrugged. "About a week and a half."

Ben's eyes widened, and he gave a dramatic gasp. "And you didn't _tell_ me?"

Lindsay laughed. "No, Benny, I didn't tell anyone. I'm just taking care of my dad, you know, visiting." She resorted to the lie she and Danny had decided on.

"Well, you got to come over for dinner. I'll make us some steaks." He smiled and gave a quick glance to the sky, watching the storm clouds move in with surprising speed. "Come on over tonight. I'm sure ol' Caleb will be alright for a night alone."

"Well," Lindsay said slyly, "_he _might, but I doubt my daughter will."

Ben blinked. He hadn't seen that fireball coming. "Your – your –" he stuttered.

Lindsay gestured to the porch, where Jilly was spinning in circles, her hair loose and curling softly over her green snowsuit.

"Jilly, put your hat back on!" Lindsay yelled. "Excuse me a minute," she said to Ben. She jogged over to the porch and snatched up Jilly's hat. She wiggled it onto Jilly's head, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Man?" Jilly asked, pointing to Ben, who stood with his hands in his pockets and a blank look on his face.

"Just one of mommy's friends. Why don't you see how grandpa is doing?" Lindsay suggested.

Jilly shook her head vehemently. "No, no, no!" she yelled. "He's a seal!"

"He's a seal?" Lindsay asked. She thought back to her father and his now barking cough. "Oh, the cough. He's not a seal, honey, he's just sick."

Jilly frowned. She pouted and sat down heavily on the porch, her heavy snowsuit cushioning the fall. "Wan' Daddy," she said softly, "Not seal."

Lindsay softly smoothed Jilly's hat. "Me, too," she said quietly. Lindsay stood up, holding Jilly on her hip, and walked back out to Ben.

"Ben, this is Jilly, Jilly, this is Ben," she said, jostling Jilly to make her smile. Jilly buried her face in her mother's hair and peeked out at Ben.

"H-hey, there, kid," Ben said. "So, Lindsay, you can bring her over tonight, if you want."

"Sure," Lindsay smiled. "Might give us something to do. It's really boring out here sometimes."

Ben smiled. "I'm sure after the city, most things are."

Lindsay shrugged.

* * *

"It was a lovely dinner, Ben, but we've really got to go." One thing Lindsay really loved about having a kid was that it was her all-purpose excuse. "Jilly's got to go to bed."

Ben frowned. "How about we go out for lunch tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Lindsay said, "Maybe. We'll see." She hoisted up Jilly, accepted the kiss on the cheek from Ben, and headed out the door. She put Jilly in the truck and climbed in after her.

The pickup came alive with a grunt and a roar, and Lindsay pulled out of Ben's driveway. Ben had done well for himself – he'd invented a lumberjacking tool that had spread throughout the United States. He'd moved right back to Montana and had bought himself a huge house just outside of Bozeman. Dinner had been prepared by his personal cook.

Lindsay bundled up Jilly and headed out the door, where snow was falling in heavy clumps.

"Well, honey, what did you think of Ben?"

"Stinky," Jilly said with a pout, "I wan' Daddy."

Lindsay sighed. "I know you do, sweetie, and I do, too, but we're just seeing some of my friends here."

Jilly didn't respond. She picked up her fire truck toy from the seat and inspected it, pulling the ladder up and pushing it back with a bang.

Lindsay reached over and touched her cheek. "I know you miss Daddy, but we'll go home in just a little while, OK?"

Jilly gave no response. She looked out the window, making pictures in the frosty glass with her fingers.

"What if we called him early? He's working right now, but we can –"

Jilly looked at her with such anticipation that Lindsay nearly burst out laughing. She picked up her phone and dialed his number, then handed the phone to Jilly.

Lindsay could hear the conversation as Danny picked up the phone.

"_Hey, Montana, I was just getting off –"_

"Daddy!" Jilly shrieked.

"_Hey, JJ! I thought it was your mom. How've you been, sweetheart?"_

"Daddy we went to a man's house!" Jilly babbled into the phone. Lindsay winced. "He smelled like horses an' fish. Mommy cut lots of trees and Gran'pa is a seal!"

"_Uh …" Danny said slowly, "what man?"_

"Jilly, can I talk to daddy for a second?" Lindsay asked. Jilly frowned but handed the phone over to Lindsay.

"Hey, Danny, it's me."

"_Hot date?"_

Lindsay smiled. "We went over to a friend of mine's house for dinner."

"_What friend?"_

"You jealous?" Lindsay teased.

"_Well, duh."_

Lindsay laughed. "Just an old friend. He invited us over. It was boring, if you really want to know. We left early."

"_That's good." He sounded happier already. "Your dad is a seal?"_

"Oh, he has this really bad cough. He'll be fine; I took him to the doctor yesterday." Lindsay pulled the car into the driveway and took out the key. She reached out her arms to Jilly and took her out of the car. They shuffled through the snow and headed inside.

"How's work been?" Lindsay asked.

"_Same as ever. Oh, hey – this week, some guy killed his personal trainer over ten pounds he just 'couldn't lose.'"_

"That's awful!" Lindsay exclaimed.

"_Tell me about it. Hey, are you … I mean, don't think this has anything to do with the 'date' tonight, but Mac was gonna give me a few days off until the trial. I could come –"_

"Yes," Lindsay said quickly. "When? How soon?"

_Danny chuckled. "Tomorrow, I think. I can get an early flight, make it there before it gets dark."_

"There's a pretty bad snowstorm going on," Lindsay said mournfully, "I don't think you could get in."

"_I'll work something out," he promised. "Look, Mac's giving me some flack for talkin' on the job, so I gotta go. No more 'old friends' til I get there, right?"_

Lindsay smiled slyly. "Well, there is this really good-looking forest ranger who I used to know –"

"_Don't even think about it. I love you, alright? Both of you. I'll say goodbye to Jilly, but I really gotta go."_

"I love you, too," Lindsay said tearfully, and handed the phone over to Jilly.

* * *

As Lindsay was just about to go to sleep, she heard tiny, padded footsteps in the hall. Suddenly, her door was shoved open and Jilly jumped into her bed. She burrowed under the covers and lay perfectly still. Lindsay giggled a little and pulled down the covers to just under Jilly's chin. Jilly sucked her thumb and watched her mother with her big eyes.

"What's up, Jilly?" Lindsay asked, cuddling in next to her covered form. "You sad?"

Jilly shook her head, but started to cry.

"What's wrong, baby?" Lindsay asked. "Do you miss daddy?"

"Don' _want _gran'pa, don' _want _stinky man," she wailed.

"I know, honey, but didn't daddy tell you? He's coming to see us, really soon." Lindsay brought her closer and rubbed her back.

"Too long," Jilly sniffled.

Lindsay smiled. "How about we do something tomorrow? We could make Daddy a present."

"Cake," Jilly said.

"A cake? OK, we'll make Daddy a cake. And I bet, by the time we finish that, and have lunch, he'll be here. How does that sound?"

"Wan' Daddy's pancakes."

"Well, that's kind of a … difficult request, Jilly. How about we have pancakes for dinner? How would that be?"

Jilly's cries stopped and turned to shuddering gasps. "Yes," she said quietly.

Lindsay kissed her forehead. "Do you want to sleep in here with me tonight?"

Jilly nodded and curled up next to Lindsay, close to her side. That was the way Danny found them while he rubbed sleep from his red-rimmed eyes and tried to pop his ears from the pressure change. He turned on his heel and set about making pancakes.


	16. Chapter 16

Lindsay awoke to the smell of pancakes. This perplexed her thoroughly. It wasn't that her father couldn't be a considerate man; it was just that he never really was a spur-of-the-moment giver. He'd give presents on birthdays and Christmas, but there had never been any real gestures of spontaneous generosity. She sat up, confused, and rolled out of bed.

"Dad?" she called out softly, "do you have someone –" She stopped and stared at the scene before her. Danny was standing in front of the stove, flipping pancakes high above the frying pan.

"Blueberries or chocolate chips?" he asked, flipping his most recent masterpiece onto a plate.

Lindsay raced at him. He barely had time to turn off the stove and reach out for her before she was in his arms, kissing him like she never had before.

"How –" she muttered against his mouth, not exactly caring what the answer was. Danny pulled her up higher, letting her wrap her legs around his waist. He kissed her back, feverishly, pushing her against the wall with a gentle thump and twining his fingers in her hair. He finally broke the kiss and smiled at her, breathing lightly, and rested his forehead on hers.

"Missed you, too," he chuckled.

"How'd you get here," she asked, mesmerized by his gaze.

"I flew into Wyoming and rented a car. Jesus you guys got a lot of snow. I could barely see," he laughed.

"Has it stopped snowing?" Lindsay asked.

Danny nodded. "For now. There's a second storm heading in tonight."

He reluctantly put her down on the floor and kissed her forehead. "Where's the kid?"

Lindsay sighed. "She missed you, so I let her sleep with me. She should be getting up in –"

"DADDY!" Jilly shrieked, and ran full force at Danny. Danny bent down and swept her up.

"Hey, JJ, I missed you," he smiled, and kissed her nose. She giggled and hugged him around the neck. She immediately started telling him about the seal who lived upstairs.

Danny finished the pancakes with Jilly in his arms, holding her away from the flame but showing her how to make the pancakes. She didn't seem to be paying much attention, merely sucked her thumb and watched him work.

When they'd finished eating, Lindsay offered to clean up while Jilly and Danny played with a train set on the floor.

"So, tell me," Danny said, stretched out on the ground working on fixing together the wooden bridge, "how was your date?" He watched Jilly toddle off to find the caboose in her bedroom.

Lindsay made a 'psht,' sound, and scrubbed at the frying pan with an SOS pad.

Danny put the bridge together and started piecing the track to it. "No, seriously though, who was this guy?"

"He was an old friend. He invited me to have lunch with him today."

"He know you're married?" Danny smirked, pausing in his work.

Lindsay mock glared at him. "It's not like I took off the ring."

"Whadja wear to his house?"

"Oh, I went naked," Lindsay said airily. "We put Jilly in his playroom and then, well, you know the rest." She smirked back at Danny.

Danny got up to help her with the dishes. "I don't want you leavin' me for no lumberjack."

"He's not a lumberjack, he just sells lumberjack tools," Lindsay corrected, finding it very hard to concentrate on cleaning the silverware with Danny's arms slowly snaking around her midsection.

Danny kissed her neck slowly. "Is he cute?" Danny asked, his breath hot on her neck.

Lindsay whipped around and kissed him roughly. "Not nearly as good looking as you. Now are you going to help me with these dishes or what?"

Danny smiled and grabbed a towel. "I'll dry," he said, kissing her temple.

* * *

Later in the day, Lindsay convinced Danny to go on a hike, with the promise that it would be quick and worth it.

She took Jilly and Danny out to a lake where she used to swim, which was glazed over in a thick layer of ice. The surface glistened in the pale sunlight, and Lindsay skated out onto it in her heavy boots. She slipped across the surface gracefully, and spun around.

"It's fun!" she called to Danny, "You'd love it!"

"Sure. Whatever. Not happening," he called back, thinking to the numerous movies he'd seen where people sank into freezing lakes amidst the sounds of creaking and cracking ice. Jilly, however, had other plans. She slipped out after Lindsay, and quickly fell onto her butt. She looked more surprised than hurt.

Danny had no intention of leaving his daughter to be killed by the forces of nature, so he skated out after her. He managed to crouch low and grabbed her by the back of her snowsuit, dragging her across the ice. She thought it was hilarious, and turned it into a game. As his grip slackened, she slid away from him. Lindsay had to sit down and watch them with an amused expression on her face as Jilly escaped Danny's futile attempts to catch her each time.

"Lindsay!" she heard from her left. She turned to see Benny standing on the shore. He waved.

Danny stood from his crouching position behind a snowdrift. Jilly peeked from behind the snowdrift to see if Danny was trying to catch her. She saw Ben and frowned.

"Stinky man," she explained to Danny.

"Agreed," Danny said, and finally hoisted Jilly up. He stepped on the patches of snow, working his way back to the shore with the use of friction. Lindsay took a more graceful route – she skated on her boots all the way back to the shoreline.

Ben gave her a kiss on the cheek. Danny frowned.

"Oh, Benny, this is Danny Messer, my husband," Lindsay added. She gave a begging glance to Danny, reminding him to be cordial.

"How's it goin'," Danny mumbled, reaching out his hand to shake.

Ben took it, giving a surprised look at Lindsay. "I didn't know you got married," he said, eyes wide.

"She did," Danny grunted.

Benny peeked around Lindsay at the lake, and smiled. "You got some pretty intense memories at this lake, don't you, Lindsay?" he asked. He was only trying to alleviate the tension, but Danny sensed a come on. He looked between Lindsay and Ben.

"I guess I do," Lindsay said.

"You've still got that scar …?" Benny asked, gesturing to Lindsay's midsection.

Danny's brow furrowed. He knew that scar. It was just a line of pale skin, but Ben's knowledge of its location was upsetting. The scar started just below her left hip, and traveled down to the inside of her left thigh. It was not a scar shared between "friends."

"Why? What's the scar got to do with anything?" Danny asked grumpily.

Lindsay shot him a look. She turned and pointed to a high cliff above the lake. "You see that ledge up there?"

Danny nodded.

"I jumped off it. We were going through a drought, and the lake was lower than usual. I jumped into the lake, there were rocks, I got cut up."

Ben smiled. "I remember you didn't even scream. You just popped up for air and asked for a band-aid. You couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen."

"Band-aid?" Danny smirked.

"I passed out right after saying that," Lindsay said sheepishly.

Ben smiled. He invited them over for dinner. Lindsay took one look at Danny's pleading face and declined, though politely.

* * *

"He saw you … _there!" _Danny yelled, gesturing to Lindsay's waist, "Of course I'm jealous!"

Lindsay gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't see what about. After all these years, all this time, I feel absolutely nothing for him."

Danny's eyes went wide. "But you used to?"

Lindsay nodded and turned away to put away the dishes. "We used to date."

Danny groaned. "So while I've been at home, thinking you were just relaxing out here, you've been reconnecting with your old boyfriends?"

Lindsay laughed at his unnecessary desperation. "No, Danny, nothing like that. I love you, you know that, and I feel nothing for anyone I've ever dated in the past."

Danny placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close. "You sure?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she promised, "Plus, I was never even that into him while we were dating. It was just shock at actually having an older boyfriend." She popped a cracker into her mouth.

"Older?" Danny asked.

"Well, yeah. I was fourteen when we started dating, he was almost eighteen," she mumbled around the cracker.

Danny's eyes went wide. "You're kiddin' me, right? That's – that's not right."

Lindsay shrugged. "There was nothing wrong with it. It's in the past, anyways. Is Jilly in bed yet? It's getting late."

Danny sighed and gave Lindsay a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll put her in bed. I think she's still playing with the train set I fixed up for her. After, though, we've got some catching up to do on the case."

Lindsay grinned slyly. "Can we catch up on other things? I'll let you look at the scar…"

Danny smirked and kissed her again. "I'll meet you in the bedroom in ten."


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry it took so long - I've been out of town :)

* * *

Jilly crawled out of her crib, hoisting herself over the railing. She climbed down the wooden slats and dropped to the floor, giving herself a moment to catch her breath. She skidded a little on the slippery floor, her footie pajamas sliding on the ground despite the tiny bits of rubber. She sucked her thumb while she walked her way to Lindsay's room.

It wasn't that she couldn't fall asleep, exactly; it was more that she didn't _want_ to. She knew that the second she closed her eyes, she'd feel a harsh hand around her wrist and someone dragging her into a car. The thought of reliving that moment, even for a second, caused her to let out a low whimper.

She pushed open the door to her mother's room and walked over to the bed. She could see the lumped covers on top, and pushed at them with her free hand. They moved lifelessly, and slipped off the bed with a whisper. Jilly took her thumb out of her mouth and used her hands to pull herself up onto the bed. Once on the surface, she found it completely empty – a vast expanse of sheets and pillows.

It was then that she started to panic. She started with a soft cry, then a wail that echoed through the empty room.

She heard Danny call her name from a bit of a distance, and heard his footsteps in the hallway. His voice grew louder as he realized she wasn't in her room.

"Jilly, where –"

He stopped as he saw her at last, sobbing sitting on the bed with her hands reaching out to him. Danny finished pulling on his shirt and picked her up from the bed, bringing her close to his chest. She could feel his heart pounding against her as she buried her face in his shirt and cried.

She felt Lindsay's hand on her back, rubbing softly. "Where was she?" Lindsay asked.

"On your bed. I guess she couldn't find us."

They walked to the living room, where papers were spread out on the coffee table, the basis of their case against Greg.

"Do you think it's a good idea to have her in here while we talk about it?" Lindsay asked anxiously.

Danny shook his head. "We'll just keep it in technical terms. She won't know." He pulled up a paper and handed it over to Lindsay. "We were here, right?"

"I don't remember. Maybe we should stop … um … having _intercourse _in the middle of reviewing for this trial."

"Well, Montana, I don't remember you denying that you wanted to participate in said _intercourse." _He said the word the same way she had, hissing it over Jilly's head, but managed to make it sexy to Lindsay at the same time.

"It's been almost two weeks," Lindsay sighed. "I can't believe we keep getting interrupted. Yesterday it was my dad, now Jilly – they must have planned this," she joked. Danny smirked. Suddenly tired, Lindsay lay back against the couch and closed her eyes.

Danny rocked Jilly and tried to shush her crying. "It's OK," he murmured, "You're fine." He smoothed her hair until she finally stopped wailing. She turned her face into Danny's neck and hiccupped.

"You gonna tell us what's wrong, baby?" Danny asked her, still smoothing her hair.

"Don' wanna sleep," she mumbled.

"Why not?" Lindsay asked reaching out for Jilly. Danny put her in Lindsay's arms and cuddled up to Lindsay, putting an arm around her shoulders and shifting her into his lap.

"Bad dreams," Jilly said.

"Well, do you want us to wait with you until you go to sleep?" Lindsay asked. Jilly nodded and burrowed into Lindsay's body.

"She's almost out," Danny whispered in Lindsay's ear, "Should only be another minute or so."

They read quietly until Jilly was asleep. Danny dragged in some blankets and made her a little bed at the end of the couch, in case she woke up again.

"We gotta do something about those nightmares," Danny said, flipping through his papers.

Lindsay nodded and threw a glance over at Jilly. "You know what they're about, don't you?"

Danny looked up. "The kidnapping?"

Lindsay flinched. "Don't use that word."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to hear it in context with her. I don't like it."

"Why? That's what happened." He looked over at her. "Why does it bug you so –"

"Danny, let's just focus on the case."

"We _are_. She's part of the case."

"Don't say that, either."

"Why not? It's true. What is it you don't want to talk about? 'Cause you can't just deny this stuff. Our daughter got kidnapped by some sicko, who happened to be stalking –"

"Stop!" Until then, their voices had been hushed, respecting of the toddler sleeping at the end of the couch. Lindsay's voice rang out, echoed in the room. "It wasn't my fault," she said, her voice considerably lower. She wavered slightly. Danny picked up on her true feelings faster than she did.

"But you think it is," he said slowly.

Lindsay shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous, let's just focus on reviewing the case."

"No, we have to focus on this, Lindsay. We go home tomorrow. The case is in three days. Now tell me honestly that you think it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't," she said weakly.

"Do you think Greg stalking us was your fault, too? Trudy? You gonna take responsibility for other people's character flaws now?" He leaned in closer to her.

"I could've stopped it earlier," she admitted, her voice breaking, "I could've."

"No," Danny assured her, "You couldn't have. This wasn't anyone's fault but Greg's. You gotta believe me, Linds, you had nothing to do with this."

"Are you sure? You really think that?" she asked, turning her tearstained face up to his.

Danny nodded. Lindsay curled up into his side and took the papers from his hand. She moved them all away and rested her head on his chest.

"I think we're done for the night," he said softly, "No more case. No more reviewing."

"I think I can live with that," Lindsay smiled.

* * *

"He's not insane!" Lindsay screamed a week later, throwing her cell phone at the wall. "Well, I mean, he is, but he's not – I want him in jail!" She groaned and sat in a chair. "I can't believe this," she gasped.

"I know, me neither, but it's all up to the jury."

"It's hopeless," Lindsay muttered, sinking down onto her office chair and resting her head on her desk. He's going to get off with some measly little punishment and he'll be back at our apartment with –"

"Lindsay," Danny said. He pulled her head off the desk and rolled her chair back so she faced him. "That's not gonna happen."

"What if it does?" she asked, "It could – we've seen it before, on other cases. Danny, they had doctors and medical histories and –"

"Montana, you're drivin' yourself up the wall. Just breathe. It's not up to us. The jury's gonna see through it." He knelt before her. "And if they don't, we move. We get a police escort 'til we catch him at it again, and he won't ever touch us, you know that, 'cause I'm not about to let that happen."

"I know that," Lindsay sighed, reaching out for a hug. Danny pulled her in and stood.

"We just gotta wait until the jury comes in with the verdict," he murmured, "You wanna go pick up Jilly at Adam's place with me? It might cheer you up."

She nodded and followed him out the door.

* * *

Jilly didn't seem to be worried about Greg's plea of insanity. When her parents came to get her, she was hiding behind Adam's couch, in a small corner where no adult person could reach her. Singing.

Danny crouched down and looked into the small crevice behind the couch, his brow furrowed. "Jillian?" He asked slowly, "You alright, sweetheart?"

Jilly smiled at him and continued drawing on her leg with a fluorescent purple marker, singing her song.

"Papa inna kitchen wif maaa- maaa, srummin' onne alban jo-o-o," she sang happily, adding a circle and a squiggly line to her new marker-tattoo, "Fishes in the ocean with ice cream, srummin' onne alban jo!"

"You wanna come outta there, Jilly?" Lindsay asked, peering over the top of the couch.

Jillian looked up at her mother and smiled, showing all of her tiny white teeth. "Lookit!" She said excitedly, pointing at her leg.

"That's great, honey," Lindsay smiled back, though she was far more concerned about how many gallons of soap were going to get the marker off.

"How exactly did this happen?" Danny asked Adam.

Adam looked up at the ceiling, then over to the door, then blinked. "She's the worlds greatest hide-and-go-seeker. That's really all there is to it," he said nervously.

Danny nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know. Last time I spent three hours before finding her in a pillowcase, lying on my bed. Since then, we got a ban on hide-and-go-seek."

"You didn't mention –"

"Yeah, I know, I know. Next time," Danny cut him off. He looked back into the crevice to see Jilly crawling out. She held out her arms to him. Danny picked her up, brushing cobwebs and dust off of her dress.

"Thanks for watching her, Adam," Lindsay smiled, picking up Jilly's batman backpack, "We really appreciate it."

Adam smiled and peered into the crevice. "Oh, she left the marker –" he turned around to see that they were already gone. He sighed.


	18. Chapter 18

Lindsay's phone rang as she left her meeting with the prosecutor. She flipped open her phone, held it to her ear with a shoulder, and shoved her notes into her purse.

"Hello?" she asked. A fire truck ran screaming by, blocking off all sound. Lindsay blew a stream of air out of her mouth and crossed the street behind the fire truck as she waited for the sound to pass. As the truck sped away, she spoke again.

"Hello?" she asked again.

"_Hey there, Linds! It's Benny – Benny Wallace!" a cheerful voice greeted her._

Lindsay's eyes widened. "Oh, hey, Benny, I'm actually on my way to –"

"_Now, I want no excuses for this!" Ben interrupted excitedly, "I have great news: I'm in New York!"_

Lindsay skirted around a woman picking up change from the curb distractedly, peering into store windows. "Oh, Benny, that's wonderful, but I'm really busy with this court case –"

"_I'm moving there!"_

Lindsay stopped in the middle of the crosswalk. "You're what?" she asked dully.

Seconds later, amid screeching tires and a roaring smash, the phone was thrown from her hand and smashed on the sidewalk.

* * *

"Danny, stop it, I'm fine!" Lindsay shrieked, wiggling out of his grasp.

"So? You're my wife! If I wanna carry you, then damn it, I'm gonna carry you!" he yelled back, lifting her into the car.

He gingerly dropped her into the passenger's seat and buckled her seat belt. "Stop arguing," he added, softer this time.

"It's just a broken leg and a couple of scratches, Danny, I'm perfectly fine," Lindsay said soothingly.

Danny snorted. "Do me a favor and just sit, OK? Just sit there, and don't talk."

"You're _mad _at me?" Lindsay snapped back.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am," Danny retorted.

Lindsay crossed her arms on her chest and looked away from him. "I can't _believe _you," she said under her breath.

"Oh, yeah? Can't 'believe' me, huh? 'Cause I can't believe that I get a call from your _ex boyfriend _telling me that he thinks you're in trouble! And then – oh, yeah, this is the best part – I come to the hospital, where you and him are buddying up while I'm havin' a heart attack thinking you were _dead!" _Danny roared.

Lindsay was momentarily speechless, giving Danny time to walk around to the other side of the car and get in. The car ride was silent, right up until Danny carried Lindsay up the stairs and into their apartment. He set her down on the couch, got her some soup and toast, and left her to stew while he got Jilly from Flack's place.

* * *

The two parents didn't speak to each other for the rest of the night. Jilly, however, collapsed into a fit of giggles over Lindsay's new cast.

"Mommy it's _purple!_" she said excitedly.

Lindsay reluctantly agreed for Jilly to design on the cast with a silver sharpie. Jilly crouched over the cast, which rested on a pillow on the couch. Lindsay laid back and read a book until Jilly shook her arm. "All done!" she giggled.

"Das you, Mommy," Jilly said, pointing to the stick figure closest to Lindsay's feet.

"What am I holding?" Lindsay asked, squinting her eyes at the misshapen stick-like object next to her three stick-fingers.

"Das your axe," Jilly smiled. "See?" She said happily, pointing at the silvery sharp edge.

_Great, _Lindsay thought sarcastically, _now I'm an axe murderer._

"Das Daddy," Jilly explained, pointing to the taller, smiling stick figure, "And das me!" she said excitedly, poking at the short figure between them.

"It's very pretty, Jilly," Lindsay said, lifting her daughter up from the ground and hugging her tightly.

"You shouldn't be lifting anything," Danny grunted from behind her, breaking his vow of silence.

"Don't tell me what to do," Lindsay said blithely, yet dangerously.

Danny lifted up the plates on the table and walked towards the kitchen. "Just a suggestion," he said all too sweetly.

Lindsay frowned.

"Daddy mad," Jilly said quietly, and popped her thumb into her mouth.

"He's not mad," Lindsay sighed, "he's just … worried."

Jilly looked up at her, her eyes questioning.

"Well, he's not mad at you," Lindsay added, "Why don't you go put on your pajamas and then get ready for bed?"

Jilly rolled off the couch and headed into her own room. She came back with her pajamas in one hand and her Mother Goose tales in the other. Lindsay helped her get dressed. She read to Jilly until Jilly's head dropped onto Lindsay's chest. Lindsay couldn't help but fall asleep as well.

When Lindsay woke up, she was being carried to the bedroom, her head pillowed on Danny's shoulder. She kept her eyes closed, and felt him tuck her under the sheets, adjusting the cast so as not to make her uncomfortable, and pull the covers up under her chin. He gave her a soft kiss to her forehead and climbed in behind her.

* * *

Late that night, Danny heard a small noise. It could have been anything, really. It was a slight thud – the sound of something tapping on the wood floors of their apartment. Danny slowly got out of bed, careful not to disturb Lindsay, and picked up the baseball bat lying next to their bed. Any other time, Danny might have ignored it, but with Greg still out on bail, he wasn't taking chances.

He crept towards the sound. His heart beat faster when he realized that the sound seemed to be coming from right outside Jilly's door. He lifted the bat, held tightly to it, his hands familiarizing themselves with the feel of it. He stepped out of the bedroom and readied the bat to strike when –

"What's _dat_, Daddy?" Jilly stage-whispered, pointing to his bat.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the bat. He swept her up to his hip and kissed her head.

"Nothin', sweetheart, I was just playin' a game," he whispered. He picked up the bat again and, holding Jilly to his chest, checked the apartment over, making sure that the small family was alone in their home.

Having satisfied himself with their relative safety, he brought Jilly back into her room. He sat down in the rocking chair and rocked her back and forth. He slowly stroked her honey curls.

"Why you gettin' up at this hour, JJ?" he asked softly, not wanting to disturb Lindsay.

Jilly shrugged and sucked on her thumb. Her eyes wandered around the room, finally settling on Danny's dog tags. She reached out her free hand and played with them, her eyelids drooping.

Suddenly, her thumb popped out of her mouth. "Daddy, why are you mean?"

Danny looked down at her, then chuckled. "Whatcha mean?"

"You made Mommy sad," Jilly mused, sucking on her thumb once again.

Danny cleared his throat and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger. "Well, JJ, do you remember the stinky man?"

Jilly nodded against his chest.

"Well, he's here now, and he and Mommy saw each other today. And that made me a little mad. And then, some drunk fu- uh … this mean guy ran into Mommy with his car, and that made me really mad, because I hate it when your Mommy is hurt. And then your Mommy was being stubborn and acting like it was no big deal that she was hurt – that got me a little mad, too. I guess it was that one big thing, and those two little things, and I just kind of blew up." Danny sighed and looked down at Jilly. "Does that cover it?" he asked. He frowned, then smiled as he realized that she'd fallen asleep in his arms. He carefully laid her down in her bed and kissed her forehead.

"Thanks, Jilly," he murmured, and left, closing her door behind him.


	19. Chapter 19

Danny helped Lindsay into the elevator. She leaned back on the wall and held tight to her crutches.

"You nervous?" he asked her.

She nodded, biting her lip.

"It'll be OK."

She gave an anxious laugh. "Sure," she said sarcastically.

"You're still mad?" he asked incredulously.

Lindsay shrugged. "Guess so," she said, staring at the wall.

"Look, Linds," Danny started. He was interrupted when the doors pinged open and Andrea, their lawyer, gestured dramatically at them from down the hall to come into the courtroom.

Lindsay took a deep breath and adjusted her crutches. She slowly, surely moved herself forwards, unable to ignore the nasty feeling at the pit of her stomach.

* * *

"So, Mrs. Messer, it seems you were in an accident recently?" the defense attorney asked Lindsay.

Lindsay shifted on the wooden chair and gave a quick glance over at her crutches. "Yes, I was," she responded firmly, "I was hit by a car." She discreetly scratched her thigh, covered by a set of dress pants, under which lay her thick, itchy cast. She knew scratching would do nothing, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Was the driver intoxicated?" the defense attorney asked, a look of mock curiosity on her face.

"No, he was not," Lindsay said quietly. Despite Danny and her earlier beliefs, Earnest Alexander was completely sober.

From the wooden bench behind the prosecutor, Danny leaned forwards and muttered, "Where is she goin' with this?"

Their lawyer, Andrea Feinman, muttered back, "I'm not sure yet."

"What about you, Mrs. Messer, were _you_ intoxicated?" the defense attorney asked sweetly.

Lindsay's eyes went wide. "No, I was not."

Andrea stood up. "Objection. Relevance?"

The defense attorney smiled at the judge. "Goes to Mrs. Messer's credibility," she said firmly, knowing that she'd won.

"I'll allow it," the judge said tiredly.

"Then what would you attribute as the cause of the accident, Mrs. Messer?"

"I'm not sure," Lindsay shot back.

"You're not sure? Is it that you don't know? I have a written statement by witnesses telling me that you were on your cell phone, and obviously preoccupied while walking across the street."

"That … I was talking on my phone, yes."

"To whom, may I ask?"

"To an old friend of mine."

"An old boyfriend?"

Lindsay swallowed nervously. "Um, yes."

"So you were walking down the street, oblivious to oncoming traffic, on the phone with an old flame?"

"Yes, but –"

"Do you still have feelings for this man?" The attorney asked.

Danny gritted his teeth. Andrea stood up and shouted, "Objection! Relevance?"

"Goes to credibility, once again," the defense attorney said happily.

The judge allowed it once more.

"Suffice it to say, you did not tell your husband that this ex was back in town, did you, Mrs. Messer?"

"Well, I –"

"You neglected to mention, I assume, that this man, a Mr. Benjamin Wallace, has moved to New York?"

Danny frowned.

"I never really got the time," Lindsay said quietly.

"Do you make a habit of keeping things from people, Mrs. Messer?"

"No, I don't do that," Lindsay said hoarsely, realizing where the lawyer was going.

"Are you keeping things from us right now?"

"I –"

"Is there anything you'd like to tell us now, Mrs. Messer? And if you had something to say, should we believe it? You're not the most open of people, Mrs. Messer."

Andrea Feinman closed her eyes in anger, scrunching up her face.

* * *

Danny paced the floor of Andrea's office. Andrea had stomped off for coffee.

"Danny, I didn't have time to say anything about it!" Lindsay hissed from her chair.

Danny snorted angrily. "Sure, Linds. I mean, how do you work that into the conversation? You've only had a _week_ to figure it out! "

Lindsay shut her eyes and let her head fall into her hands. "It slipped my mind, OK?" she moaned.

"God, Lindsay, that's something I need to know!" he shouted back.

"You want to know where all of my ex-boyfriends are?" Lindsay asked quietly, "Should I make you a _map?_"

"That's not – look, don't make this about me! You kept stuff from me!" He thundered, "And it cost us the case!"

"Jury's in," Andrea said, leaning into the office. She glared at the two of them.

* * *

That night, Danny woke up to the sound of running water. He turned over to look at Lindsay, and found her gone from the bed. She hadn't said a word to him all day. He climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom to find her curled up next to the bathtub. She was hanging onto the side of the porcelain tub with one hand, her knuckles white with the strain, and leaning over the tub. The second hand was clutched around her nose and mouth to muffle the sound of her crying.

"Oh, Linds," Danny said tiredly, and sat down next to her. She responded immediately, as if she hoped, through her attempts to hide her crying, that he would come in anyways. She threw herself at him, clutching his white t-shirt and burying her face in it.

"It's not fair," Lindsay sobbed into Danny's shoulder, "And maybe it's my fault. But it's not fair," she blubbered.

Danny touched her hair and slid his hand down to her back. "It's not your fault," he murmured, "I know it's not fair, baby."

Lindsay looked up, her face shiny and red. She sniffed, clearing her nose. "After all that, he gets therapy and time at a mental hospital? That's it?" she squeaked. "Oh, God," she mumbled, and collapsed into Danny again. "_I _want therapy and time at a mental hospital. _He_ should get _kicked_ to death."

Danny sighed. "I know, baby, I know."

"You're a dick," she sniffed. "You're such a dick."

Danny sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn'ta been so mad at you."

Lindsay sniffled and crawled into Danny's lap. He wrapped his arms around her.

He reached over and turned off the tub. Lindsay's sobs echoed in the tile room.

"It's not your fault, baby," Danny whispered to her ear, "I'm sorry I said that."

Lindsay snorted, "Psht. Yeah. Like you would've said if you were wrong." She burrowed into Danny's neck, enjoying the warmth of his skin.

"It was the insanity plea that did us in. They had a solid, bullshit case. And it's over, Montana, so we just gotta take what we got." He felt her wet face pressed up against him, felt her sobbing breaths against the sensitive skin of his neck.

Lindsay shook her head. "I want to move."

Danny looked down at her. "Are you serious?"

"I don't want him to know where we live. I want to move. I don't care where." Her voice came in heaving sobs, though it shocked him with its firmness.

"Out of the city? Out of the state? Watcha mean, move?"

"I don't care. Just … not here. Not in this apartment."

Danny sighed. "OK. I'll start lookin' around."

"Thank you," she said, her voice soggy. Danny waited until her sobs had subsided until he helped her up and carried her to bed. He set her cast up on a pillow and crawled in behind her, working his arms around her midsection.

"We're gonna be OK, Linds," he whispered into her hair, giving her a quick kiss above her ear.


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry it's been so long - Tying up this story with one last chapter, but to all those who really want it, I've already started a sequel, two years from where this leaves off :)

* * *

In the first nice weather since September, Lindsay laughed as Jilly placed a stick on top of their sandcastle.

"Finished!" Jilly shrieked, and stood up to look at the masterpiece. Sand tumbled from the pointed peak in tiny waves, and assorted leaves and branches protruded from the bizarre grouping of lumps and hills in the sandcastle. Jilly had poured glitter on top of it.

"Where did you get that glitter, Jillian?" Lindsay asked, smiling at her.

Jilly pointed to her Batman backpack. Lindsay picked it up and looked inside. In it, she found her missing bath salts, 17 cents in assorted coins, two cowboy action figures, and a plastic container of glitter.

Lindsay sighed. "What are you, a crow?" she asked, looking at her daughter. "Where in the world did you come from?" she murmured tiredly. Jilly smiled, showing all of her tiny teeth, and got up. A huge accumulation of sand fell from her white dress, back into the sandbox. She walked over to the swing set and looked back at Lindsay, pointing at the swing.

After a few swings, Jilly tired of the swing set and she and Lindsay took a walk through the park.

"Alice!" Jilly shrieked.

"You want to go see the Alice and Wonderland statue?" Lindsay asked, taking her hand.

Jilly nodded, dragging and skipping Lindsay over to the bright flowers alongside the path.

Lindsay's phone rang shrilly, frightening a bird trilling from one of the trees.

"Hello?" she answered, jogging along after Jilly.

"_Hey, Montana."_

Lindsay smiled. "Hey, Danny," she said flirtatiously. It stunned her sometimes how the sound of his voice could reduce her to a giggly teenager.

"_I got you some lunch. You home, or out?"_

"Jilly and I are about five minutes from the Alice and Wonderland statue in the park, near 74th."

"_Meet ya there," _he said, and hung up.

* * *

Lindsay bit into the ham sandwich Danny had picked up for her. Danny had Jilly on his lap and was teaching her how to make a popping sound with her mouth and her hand.

"So what kind of apartment we lookin' for, Montana?" Danny asked.

It had been nearly a month since the trial. Lindsay had been occupied with preparing for Jilly's third birthday, her father's persistent cough, and a case involving a dead zoologist that she'd barely had time to think about it.

"I don't know," she said around the sandwich, "Maybe one nearer to the lab? Or one close to a good school for Jilly."

"No, I mean … should we … uh …" Danny looked up at her, studying her for a moment.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"Two bedroom, or bigger?"

Lindsay chuckled, not understanding at first. "Why would we need anything larger than –oh." Lindsay swallowed and put her sandwich in her lap. She stared at it, avoiding Danny's gaze.

"Danny, I –" she started.

"Don' worry about it," Danny mumbled. "I was just wondering."

"I mean, maybe later, but … now?" Lindsay asked meekly.

"Why not now?" Danny's voice was curious rather than challenging. He helped Jilly off his lap and gave her a pat towards the statue.

"You know," Lindsay said to her sandwich. She bit her lip. "With the things that have been happening recently, I just …" she looked up at him, her eyes creased and worried, "I can't do it, Danny. I'm sorry. I can't have another kid right now."

"You scared?" he asked, surprised, "Is it Greg?"

"Well, not …" Lindsay thought for a moment. "Yes, it's Greg. If he got out - which he might if he passes a psych consult – then we can't protect another child. We barely were able to keep him away from Jilly. We can't possibly stop him from hurting us if we have two kids – more, maybe – because – don't shake your head like that! Danny, this could happen. We have to confront it." She looked over at Jilly, who was climbing the statue in front of them.

"No, no, Lindsay, he's not a problem anymore," Danny assured, reaching out to touch Lindsay's hair.

Lindsay drew back. "Don't be ridiculous, Danny, the trial was completely bogus; for all intents and purposes, he's free. He could come back and –"

"Can you trust me? Just a _little_ bit, Lindsay?" Danny asked angrily, "You know I'm not about to let that happen. We can protect our kids, Lindsay; that much I know. If you're not so sure, then I know I can. I know that I'd do anything for Jilly, and that's enough."

Lindsay leaned into him and kissed him, calming him down. "I know you'll do everything you can, Danny," Lindsay soothed. "I know, OK? But I'm still worried."

"I worry, too, Linds, but it's not gonna control my life," Danny said, meeting her gaze, "If we do that, then we're not living right."

"I know," Lindsay said, her eyes tearing up, "but it's so hard."

"I'm sorry I suggested it," Danny said coldly, "Maybe I should go."

Lindsay caught his hand and pulled him back down. "Don't. Don't leave it like that. I can't have a baby right now, Danny, please try to understand that –" she pleaded, attempting to control her sobs.

"OK," Danny said, sitting back down. He pulled her closer to himself and hugged her tightly. He sighed. "So just another apartment? Same size as we have now?"

Lindsay looked at him sadly. "Yes," she whispered.

Danny looked over at her and pecked her on the cheek. "OK. Look, I got work I gotta catch up on –"

"For now," Lindsay added.

"What?"

"Same size for now. In the future, maybe Jilly wouldn't mind sharing a room."

A slow smile spread across Danny's face. He kissed his wife hard on the mouth before picking up Jilly and swinging her around. He kissed his daughter's head as goodbye.

As Danny walked out of the park, he turned around. "Hey, Linds, should we get right on that when we get home? 'Cause I think we gotta at least get some practice in."

Lindsay mock glared at him. "Go to work!" she shouted.

Danny quickly jogged back to her, smirking. Before she knew what hit her, he wrapped his arms around her and dropped her into a tango-style dip, kissing her fiercely. "You know I love you, right?" he murmured into the kiss.

She smiled. "How could I forget?"


End file.
